What do you think?
Rate this book
Tennis:Winning the Mental Match
Tennis is more difficult mentally than most other sports. Because of its one on one personal nature, it feels more important than it is. Competitive matches can become highly stressful, and losing is painful. Emotions tend to get out of hand, with fears and nerves becoming difficult to control. Confidence comes and goes; the scoring system is diabolical; everyone is at risk of choking, even the greatest players in the world. This book attacks these and other issues faced by players of all levels. Dr. Allen Fox's solutions are logical and straightforward, and most importantly, they have been tested and they work.
PARTIAL
CH. 1: WHY DO WE WANT TO WIN?
Winning a tennis match feels more important than it is because players are genetically wired to compete for position on the social hierarchy. The emotions of a tennis match resemble those of a fight. Players may realize that winning a match doesn t really matter, but they will always want to win anyway.
CH. 2: THE EMOTIONAL ISSUES OF
Tennis is inherently an emotional game. Because match outcomes feel important but are ultimately uncontrollable, matches can become stressful. There is often an unconscious urge to escape this stress, which leads to counterproductive behaviors, among which are anger, tanking, and excuse-making. These can be overpowered by the conscious mind, but it requires understanding, high motivation, and constant effort.
CH. 3: USING EMOTION TO HELP YOU
Your emotions will dramatically affect your tennis performance. We discuss how to keep counterproductive emotions in check and how to create productive ones that will help you win. Topics include the use of adrenalin, profiting from the time between points, and maintaining an optimal excitation level.
CH. 4: REDUCING THE
Matches can become overly stressful, and this hinders performance. Stress can be reduced by developing a more realistic perspective of the game. Included are accepting outcomes that can t be controlled; resisting a narrow focus on winning; avoiding excessive perfectionism; getting over losses quickly; and using goals for hope and motivation rather than allowing them to become expectations and cause stress.
CH. 5: THE PROBLEMS OF
Most players become nervous and stressed when they are ahead and face the hurdle of finishing the match against a dangerous opponent. The unique tennis scoring system intensifies this problem. The closer players get to winning, the greater the stress. Trying to reduce it gives rise to counterproductive behaviors such as procrastinating the finish or becoming overconfident and easing up with a lead.
CH. 6: CHOKING - ITS CAUSES AND HOW TO MINIMIZE ITS
Choking is most frequent at the finish of games, sets, and matches due to the uncertainty of outcome. You can limit choking damage by immediate acceptance of this uncertainty. Avoid stressful thoughts of winning by using rituals, focusing, and relaxation techniques. Rid yourself of the idea that choking will make you lose, and recognize that there are usually multiple opportunities to win, not just one.
CH. 7: CONFIDENCE AND HOW TO GET IT IF YOU DON T HAVE
Confidence, aka self-belief, comes mostly from winning. Though it s more difficult, you can win without it by replacing it with sufficient emotional discipline. Slumps and hot streaks occur in cycles and both end naturally with time. Stressing over a slump prolongs it. You can speed its ending by several methods which we discuss.
CH. 8: GAME
Game plans give your efforts direction and structure. They can rely primarily on offence or defense but should be consistent with your personality. With Plan A you are looking for a match-up where you have a relative advantage, most commonly pitting your strengths against an opponent's weakness.
PARTIAL
CH. 1: WHY DO WE WANT TO WIN?
Winning a tennis match feels more important than it is because players are genetically wired to compete for position on the social hierarchy. The emotions of a tennis match resemble those of a fight. Players may realize that winning a match doesn t really matter, but they will always want to win anyway.
CH. 2: THE EMOTIONAL ISSUES OF
Tennis is inherently an emotional game. Because match outcomes feel important but are ultimately uncontrollable, matches can become stressful. There is often an unconscious urge to escape this stress, which leads to counterproductive behaviors, among which are anger, tanking, and excuse-making. These can be overpowered by the conscious mind, but it requires understanding, high motivation, and constant effort.
CH. 3: USING EMOTION TO HELP YOU
Your emotions will dramatically affect your tennis performance. We discuss how to keep counterproductive emotions in check and how to create productive ones that will help you win. Topics include the use of adrenalin, profiting from the time between points, and maintaining an optimal excitation level.
CH. 4: REDUCING THE
Matches can become overly stressful, and this hinders performance. Stress can be reduced by developing a more realistic perspective of the game. Included are accepting outcomes that can t be controlled; resisting a narrow focus on winning; avoiding excessive perfectionism; getting over losses quickly; and using goals for hope and motivation rather than allowing them to become expectations and cause stress.
CH. 5: THE PROBLEMS OF
Most players become nervous and stressed when they are ahead and face the hurdle of finishing the match against a dangerous opponent. The unique tennis scoring system intensifies this problem. The closer players get to winning, the greater the stress. Trying to reduce it gives rise to counterproductive behaviors such as procrastinating the finish or becoming overconfident and easing up with a lead.
CH. 6: CHOKING - ITS CAUSES AND HOW TO MINIMIZE ITS
Choking is most frequent at the finish of games, sets, and matches due to the uncertainty of outcome. You can limit choking damage by immediate acceptance of this uncertainty. Avoid stressful thoughts of winning by using rituals, focusing, and relaxation techniques. Rid yourself of the idea that choking will make you lose, and recognize that there are usually multiple opportunities to win, not just one.
CH. 7: CONFIDENCE AND HOW TO GET IT IF YOU DON T HAVE
Confidence, aka self-belief, comes mostly from winning. Though it s more difficult, you can win without it by replacing it with sufficient emotional discipline. Slumps and hot streaks occur in cycles and both end naturally with time. Stressing over a slump prolongs it. You can speed its ending by several methods which we discuss.
CH. 8: GAME
Game plans give your efforts direction and structure. They can rely primarily on offence or defense but should be consistent with your personality. With Plan A you are looking for a match-up where you have a relative advantage, most commonly pitting your strengths against an opponent's weakness.
166 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2010
51 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 1, 2016
Everything in this book makes intuitive sense. Fox has been on the professional tennis court and is a licensed pyschologist. Both experiences give huge impact to all advice in this book. The writing is easy to follow and split up well although some of the chapters stretch a bit to fill space.
All aspiring, competitive level tennis players should read this book. Nothing in it is surprising but the well laid ou reasons for thinking about what a player is doing and when is priceless. I found myself bookmarking something in almost every chapter.
As a side note, when I reviewed this on Amazon (stars plus a very brief paragraph) it automatically marked it as read on Goodreads and inserted my short non-thought out review. I can say I really don't like that. I wouldn't mind if it went the other direction but Amazon reviews are an afterthought for me, Goodreads is the real universe.
All aspiring, competitive level tennis players should read this book. Nothing in it is surprising but the well laid ou reasons for thinking about what a player is doing and when is priceless. I found myself bookmarking something in almost every chapter.
As a side note, when I reviewed this on Amazon (stars plus a very brief paragraph) it automatically marked it as read on Goodreads and inserted my short non-thought out review. I can say I really don't like that. I wouldn't mind if it went the other direction but Amazon reviews are an afterthought for me, Goodreads is the real universe.
June 10, 2024
Very helpful and useful tips that are beneficial to any tennis player! The mental game is incredibly important and an often overlooked aspect of the game, its the mental game that often distinguishes champions from average players, and this book gives real life examples and strategies for how to buil your mental game.
Towards the end their was some helpful tips with how to motivate kids as players, which is very important to inculcate a love of the game. Also, although short, the section on mental game with doubles partners is incredibly important - the energy you have with your partner can often lead to victory or defeat depending with how self motivated your team is.
Overall a great must read for any tennis player!
Towards the end their was some helpful tips with how to motivate kids as players, which is very important to inculcate a love of the game. Also, although short, the section on mental game with doubles partners is incredibly important - the energy you have with your partner can often lead to victory or defeat depending with how self motivated your team is.
Overall a great must read for any tennis player!
August 6, 2012
I loved this book. I really needed some mental strategy for my tennis game, and this book gave me lots to think about. He covers getting out of slumps, staying mentally focused, creating game plans. It was a really good book. I also appreciated he recognized there are different styles of players. He encourages players to figure out what kind of player they are (aggressive and more prone to a offensive game, or more laid back and prone to a defensive game), chatty vs. non-chatty, etc. It's okay to be however you are. You can work within your bounds. And if you play doubles, it's crucial to find a partner who understands and respects your play style. I've already started implementing some of his techniques. I'm confident I'll be referring back to this book to help me keep me focused on developing my mental game along with my physical one.
April 5, 2015
Will be reading again
I am extremely happy that I purchased this book. The part about slowing the match down when u r behind was surprising...I will use that. Having a ritual for the serve helps u focus on your plan. I had the confidence rollercoaster recently and this book helped me realize they come in phases and practice n playing matches helps to build it.
I am extremely happy that I purchased this book. The part about slowing the match down when u r behind was surprising...I will use that. Having a ritual for the serve helps u focus on your plan. I had the confidence rollercoaster recently and this book helped me realize they come in phases and practice n playing matches helps to build it.
July 23, 2015
Good application in tennis and life
In line with Allen Fox's other books - this book gives the reader a few lenses to apply when on the tennis court. It is helpful advice that keeps the game in perspective and ones journey to become better in tennis. I did find that a lot of his insights and advice can be applied in life as well.
In line with Allen Fox's other books - this book gives the reader a few lenses to apply when on the tennis court. It is helpful advice that keeps the game in perspective and ones journey to become better in tennis. I did find that a lot of his insights and advice can be applied in life as well.
December 19, 2011
A lot of good info.
May 5, 2012
Lots of insightful and useful information that can be applied quickly on the tennis court and in any other situation where you need mental toughness.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews