Mental Training for Tennis - Your Winning Mindset

By David Horne

You are about to discover how you can attain a Winning Mindset that will catapult your tennis game to the next level! If you want to reach your full-potential and win more tennis matches then this could be the most important eBook you have ever read. The 'Winning Mindset' system for tennis players has been developed by combining the knowledge and experience from professional players, coaches and sports psychologists who have over thirty years of experience in the tennis world.

Are you tired of losing to players who you know you should be beating? How would you like to win more matches? Have you forgotten what it's like to consistently win in tournaments? If you want to start winning more matches, improve your self-confidence and enjoy competing again with greater success; then "Mental Training for Tennis - Your Winning Mindset' will provide you with the information you need to become a winning tennis player!

How would you like to identify and eliminate those mental and emotional tennis performance barriers that are preventing you from winning? How would you like to beat the players you know you should be beating? This eBook has been written for tennis players of all levels who wish to attain a winning mindset; achieve their ultimate performance state on a more consistent basis; and become the best tennis player that they can possibly be! This is your complete personal blueprint to becoming a successful tennis player by mastering the mental game.

Are you ready to start winning matches against players you've never beaten before? The physical challenge may begin when you step onto the tennis court. However, it is the mental game that starts well before you even walk through the gate. As a result, many players have already won or lost before they even hit the first ball.

It's simple – you want to win more matches! And our 'Mental Training for the Tennis Mind' system is the fastest way to your improvement in tennis! I have helped thousands of players throughout my career by showing them how they can win more matches. Your tennis game will improve dramatically by learning and applying all the principles in this 'Winning Mindset' system. You will be able to think with clarity, deal with stressful situations and achieve a more positive mental state when in competition. All lead to more consistent results.

Are you ready to fully harness the power of your mind and become a successful tennis player? I will help you take the guesswork out of how you can reach your full potential and show you every essential factor that makes up a winning mindset so you can win more tennis matches!

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Horne
• Release date: Jun 5, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301227808

David Horne

David Horne was a former professional tennis player and published author as well as the founder of "Media International." David Horne tennis player had a successful junior tennis career followed by four years touring the world playing on the professional tennis tour. David retired at the age of 21 years of age before living in the USA for 11 years attaining a degree in Sports Medicine and Master's Degree in Health and Sports Science. As a tennis player, David won tennis tournaments in Estoril (Portugal), Toulouse, Nantes, Fouesnant, Tours (France), Brussels (Belgium), Istanbul (Turkey), Italy, Germany and Tarragona (Spain.) David also played club tennis in Nice (France) and Toulouse. David achieved wins against top world ranked players throughout juniors, satellite tour, challengers, French circuit and on tour against; Fabrice Santoro, Nicklas Kulti, Guillaume Raoux, Pat Rafter and Jérôme Potier. While in the USA David continued to play exhibition tournaments and coached college and country club tennis. #DavidHorne #DavidHorneTennis

Book preview

The Tennis Mind

Tennis is a huge mental game where you must possess the mental strength to handle playing in a competitive situation while being able to perform at a high level in a series of matches if you wish to win a tournament. Physical talent and hard work go a long way towards success in tennis. However, you must learn to attain a Winning Mindset to match your physical ability.

Improving your mental game can be the fastest way to improve on your tennis success and performance in matches. A confident tennis player will often out-perform a player who is lacking confidence. Over-anxious and over-energised players will make more mistakes as they do not possess the right mindset for winning. Players thinking about the consequences of losing a match are likely to lose focus during the game.

The field of sports psychology has progressed significantly in recent times, yet the majority of tennis players and coaches still do not incorporate some form of mental training into their programs. This is often due to sports psychology being misunderstood by the athlete and coach. So, what is sport psychology and how can it significantly improve your performance?

Sports Psychology is a broad term that is often defined as the study of all psychological aspects involved in sports and applying the use of various techniques to assist athletes enhance their performance levels. It involves many areas, from not only helping to enhance an athlete's performance, but also assisting the athlete to apply these principles in everyday life. Sports Psychology can also work the other way by helping athletes in their everyday life situations and issues which will have a direct positive result on their performance.

Professional athletes understand the relationship between mental training and their performance. Developing and improving various mental aspects such as; removing limiting beliefs, controlling anxiety, establishing pre-game routines, maintaining positive self-talk and goal setting can all have a great impact on the athlete's performance. Many athletes have overcome physically stronger and more skilful opponents by having that mental strength and an understanding of how to control their mind. Even one of the greatest players of all time, Roger Federer, acknowledges that mental training is one of the three most important elements for success in tennis. The other two are fitness and conditioning and your tennis skill level.

Athletes are often forced to deal with adverse weather conditions, adverse crowds and cheating opponents. It is the athlete who knows how to positively deal with each of these challenging situations that will ultimately reach their full potential when faced with these difficult events. Having the skills to handle various adverse situations is what many athletes lack. These skills can be learned and each athlete can become mentally stronger.

Athletes are constantly receiving advice and information from multiple sources. This can be overwhelming and confusing to the athlete. Learn to keep it simple! This is what this eBook strives to achieve. There are no long winded theories or philosophies, just practical strategies and advice.

The mental edge of tennis is limitless. The tips, advice, and action steps found in our Winning Mindset system will provide you with performance enhancement skills through structured routines and proven methods for success. It provides you with the tools to become a better athlete than you currently are by improving these often neglected areas. Challenge yourself to be more educated on each of the areas covered in this eBook and to use the tools provided to help you improve your performance and consistently reach higher levels in your tennis game.

It is You who dictates how far you will go in your tennis career. So take control and accept that it is YOU, who controls your own destiny!

How to Best Use this eBook

If you are new to the area of mental training and sports psychology then many of the topics and skills in this eBook will seem quite foreign. However, if you really want to see your performance levels improve, then implementing the skills and action steps provided in this eBook will be well worthwhile. You will need to read over each topic carefully and commit to implementing the newly acquired skills on a daily basis. You cannot expect to reap all the rewards from the advice provided after just one reading. It requires dedication and commitment to include these skills into every aspect of your life, both on and off the tennis court.

Take notes from this eBook with you to practice sessions and tournaments. Read over your notes when you have free time. Keep a diary of key points and skills that you include in your daily routines. If you are a member of a tennis team, then open up communication lines with your coach and fellow team mates, as it will also help them to understand what you are trying to achieve and how they can help you get to the top of your sport.

Most tennis coaches and athletes will acknowledge the importance of mental training but do not devote any time to it! The reason for this is that athletes do not know where to start! The skills in each chapter will help you learn how to train each very important component. There is more to competing than just being able to perform the required physical skills. You must be able to successfully execute these skills when it really counts in the heat of battle and under challenging conditions. You need to make these mental skills automatic just as you strive to do with your physical skills.

Throughout this eBook you will find common themes and this is intentional. Repetition is the key to learning, remembering, and then using these skills to help you in your sport.

How this eBook is Structured for Maximum Gain

1. I will explain what the Ultimate Performance State is all about. The primary goal of this eBook is to help you achieve your ultimate playing state and establish a winning mindset which will allow you to perform at your best on a more consistent basis.

2. Each component that makes up the ultimate performance state such as goal setting, visualisation, confidence, determination, mental strength and motivation (and more) will be explained in detail so that you can familiarise yourself with each component. When you understand each component, you will then be better prepared to create and design your own plan of action so that you can achieve Your Winning Mindset.

3. After all components have been discussed; I will provide a summary and review of the key points. You will now be ready to review your current training methods and to incorporate what you have learned from this eBook into your training sessions.

4. Finally, you will need to take some time to sit down and write out your plan covering all of the key elements discussed in this eBook in order to become a mentally stronger and more successful tennis player. You will immediately feel empowered and can begin to implement these components into your training programs and match play.

As you will learn throughout this eBook; I strongly put forth the view that every individual should have a plan that is designed to meet their own individual needs. There is no cookie-cutter template or recipe that will supposedly work for everyone. This type of thinking leads to mindless conformity and will prevent you from reaching your true potential as a winning tennis player. What this means is that I can show you how to attain a Winning Mindset, but it will ultimately be up to you, to use and implement the information from this eBook to develop your own personal plan. You will be in control of you own future!

Your Mindset is:

A habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret, react and respond to various situations. In order to succeed as a tennis player you must develop a Winning Mindset in all aspects of your training and competitive play as well as in your personal life!

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Chapter 1

Identifying and Achieving Your Ultimate Performance State!

Are you spending hours on the practice court but still not achieving the level of success that you desire or expect? My goal with this eBook is to show you how to attain a winning mindset and become a successful tennis player who knows how to win.

Every athlete strives to attain their Ultimate Performance State (UPS). But what is this UPS and how can you achieve this state on a more consistent basis? This state of mind varies for each individual and it is up to each athlete to identify their own ultimate performance state through self-analysis. As a professional tennis player, I knew when I was in my UPS. However, being so young, I didn't realise I could control it, let alone the cues that triggered these feelings. When I did attain this winning state of mind on a more regular basis, I experienced improved results.

As an athlete I always felt a notably different mental state when winning compared to when I was losing. I was the only one who could alter this state. I knew it could take only one trigger to send it in either direction. Consistency, maintaining routines and knowing the triggers for you are the keys to achieving your ultimate performance state.

It is the feeling of being on a roller coaster ride, experiencing the ups and downs in performance that can be the most frustrating to an athlete. Just when you think you are on your way to more consistent and successful results, you have a let-down. The great athletes learn how to limit their downs and maintain their ups.

Six Key Areas that Play a Role in Winning More Tennis Matches

The following six categories have been identified as key areas for success in order to reach your ultimate performance state as a tennis player:

Technical

Tactical

Physical (all fitness components as well as sleep, nutrition, rest and recovery)

Psychological / Mental

Match Preparation and Management

Off - court Personal Issues

1. Technical - I took care of the technical issues on the practice court by training with a coach or performing repetitious drills that worked on a specific skill. I always wanted to start a match knowing that I was confident in my technical abilities. Practise is for perfecting the skills required and competition is for allowing those skills to be executed automatically!

2. Tactical - I always had a game plan for each opponent. This required scouting my opponent in a match or having a coach or fellow team mate do that for me. From the information gained I was able to go into the match with a game plan and therefore not be surprised by anything that was thrown at me. I also trained to excel in all areas of tennis and knew that I could serve and volley or play from the baseline if needed. I had many weapons to pull-out in order to find out which one worked for me. I was not a one-dimensional player!

3. Physical - I had to be physically fit and injury free. I trained all of the specific fitness components required for tennis. I spent many hours working on agility, speed, endurance, flexibility, power, strength and the footwork involved in each stroke. I had to be faster, stronger and fitter than my opponent. I knew that; To finish first, I had to first finish and that required a high level of fitness!

4. Psychological / Mental - This is the key requirement addressed in this eBook. Learning to attain a winning mindset and achieving your ultimate playing state, on a more consistent basis, is what will help you become a more successful tennis player. There are many components that are required to achieve these goals and all are covered in this guide.

5. Match Preparation and Management - This may be new for some to consider as one of the six key factors in achieving your UPS. However, it can often be the first step to being successful. It can also be the first step to failure if neglected.

Following pre-match routines, checking your equipment is ready, eating well, knowing your match time and opponent, scheduling a practice court, and knowing how long it takes to get to the tournament are all important components to achieving your UPS. It is about helping you to maintain your positive mental state and not allowing any outside factors to interfere with your thoughts.

Quote: Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail! John Wooden

6. Off-Court Personal Issues - This is one of the most neglected areas when maintaining consistency in your performances and results. If you are having personal problems off the tennis court then you will not be able to achieve your ultimate performance state when on the court. An athlete's welfare is a major contributing factor towards being successful in the sporting world. On many occasions throughout my tennis career; I have noticed how a troubled or unhappy personal life has had a negative impact on a player's performance levels.

Identify Your Feelings and Emotions in Competition

After speaking with, and interviewing many athletes over the years; I have found that one of the best ways to achieve your ultimate performance state, on a more consistent basis, is to first remember how you felt during your performances when you were in your ultimate performance state. When you identify these feelings and emotions you can begin to construct your own checklist and design routines and programs that will help you to achieve this playing state.

So What Does it Feel Like to Have This State of Mind?

Common feelings and emotions from tennis players when they were at peak performance and in their ultimate playing state:

They felt their game was automatic and instinctive.

They had fun and enjoyed playing.

They were confident.

They were in control of the game.

They were alert and energetic but in control.

They executed their tennis skills effortlessly.

They felt strong.

They were relaxed.

They were focused on the task at hand.

They were not distracted by personal life problems.

They had low anxiety levels.

They were tuned in to the tactical ploys