Tennis is a complex game
Marcin Bieniek explains how coaches can help players develop their mental approach to tennis.
Many factors can influence a tennis player's development. Training is a day-to-day way of life for every professional player, who practices their forehands, backhands, net game, footwork, mental game (especially perseverance), etc.
You may have heard the phrase: "Tennis is 90% mental", but how much time do we train our player's mental game? As coaches, we can help our players by creating drills focused on the game's mental aspects. We do not have to make something exceptional. We can use our standard exercises with a bit of modification. Here are some tips:
How to enhance emotional control
- relaxation patterns
- breathing patterns
- personal rituals
- visualisation
- exercising yoga (off-court)
- listening to music (off-court)
- meditating (off-court)
How to enhance self-control
- self-scoring
- working strengths
- problem-solving
- positive self-talk
- acting as a role model
- rituals
- visualisation
- positive body language
How to enhance concentration
- setting targets
- creating reaction drills
- creating consistency drills
- routines
- exercising memory
How to enhance motivation
- having fun
- creating fun drills
- players choose the drill
- setting goals
- co-operation
- training diaries
- using motivating cue words
Page Reference
If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:
- BIENIEK, M. (2012) Tennis is a complex game [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article107.htm [Accessed 10/7/2025]
About the Author
Marcin Bieniek is a tennis coach from Poland and a former professional player (Polish National Juniors Team). He is a certificated tennis coach by the Polish Tennis Coaching Association and the Professional Tennis Registry. Marcin has worked with many of the top 20 Polish Juniors and the top 150 players worldwide.
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