Perhaps the single most important mental ingredient professional tennis players such as Jim Courier and Monica Seles need for success on the tour is self-confidence. Entering Centre Court at Wimbledon to play the finals against a hard serving, net rushing opponent can raise doubts in even the best players. But these professionals overcome uncertainty by learning to control their thinking and maintaining a positive attitude.

Recreational players experience the same sorts of problems with their self-confidence. Have you ever been in the club championships or a tight tiebreak and had thoughts like “I can’t win this” or “I know I will double fault and lose the match”? Fortunately, recreational players can use the same techniques that the pros use to develop their self-confidence and maintain a positive attitude.

Tennis Player’s Litany

In order for muscles to get stronger, they have to be exercised. The same holds true for the “self-confidence muscle”. One exercise I have developed working with tennis players is the Tennis Player’s Litany (see below). This series of positive self-statements acts to train you to think positively. Even if you do not believe the Litany at first, if you tell yourself something enough times you will start believing it. For best results, the Litany should be said out loud before you go to sleep at night, when you get up in the morning, and parts of it can be used before and during matches.

Active Positive Thinking

There are two steps in learning active positive thinking. First, you must stop making negative self-statements. To prevent this, it is helpful to have keywords such as “stop” or “positive”. Whenever a negative thought enters your mind, you can say the keyword which helps block out the negative thoughts. Second, you must replace these negative thoughts with positive ones. When negative thoughts pop up, you can immediately replace them with positive ones such as “I can hit my backhand” or “I can do better next game”.

Think Like A Coach

How you coach yourself while playing can also influence your self-confidence. There are two types of coaching: negative and positive. Negative coaching is self-defeating and emotional. For example, if you miss a shot, you could say “I can’t hit my forehand volley.” This negative feedback causes you to dwell on what you did wrong and have feelings of anger and frustration. But if you think like a coach, you can instruct yourself to correct the mistake. For example, you could say, “I swung on my forehand volley, but if I just block it next time, I can hit it well”. This approach provides information you can use to play better and you will feel more self-confident and relaxed.

By using these techniques, you can go from being your own worst enemy to your best ally. With a little time and effort, this new positive attitude not only enables you to play better, but it also makes playing tennis a lot more fun.

Tennis Player’s Litany:

I LOVE TO PLAY TENNIS!

I AM A GOOD TENNIS PLAYER.

I ALWAYS THINK AND TALK POSITIVELY.

I AM CONFIDENT, RELAXED, AND FOCUSED WHEN I PLAY.

I HAVE FUN PLAYING TENNIS.

I LOVE TO PLAY TENNIS!