Winning Focus

Change Your Attitude

So you want to win matches, but you do not know how? You must change your attitude to matches right now.

The objective is to focus on the performance, not the outcome. Forget about winning and concentrate on how to construct individual points. There are three paths you can go by but only one has a chance for success.

PAST	PRESENT	FUTURE
I think about what has happened. This brings me guilt and frustration	I think about what I am going to do. This brings a positive challenge	I think about what might happen. This brings me anxiety and pressure
I think about all the mistakes I have made in the past.	I take each point one at a time. I am clear about the game-plan I must carry out and have the guts to do it.	I am worried and anxious about whether or not I can win this match.
I cannot think clearly about my game-plan because I focus on past errors.	The most important thing in the match is my ability to stick to my game-plan.I must learn to develop and improve it. After each point, I only prepare for the next point and forget about the last point.	The result is all I am interested in. I don't care how I achieve the win. I am desperate for quick success.
Every match I lose makes me more doubtful about the success I crave.	I have patience and composure about my tennis. I am relaxed about the result.	Every mistake makes me scared I may lose. My confidence is totally dependent on the score. If I am losing I fear that I will lose the match.
I get really choky when I reach big points because I remind myself of past times I have blown it.	I will focus only on my performance and not on the outcome of my matches.	I get really choky when I reach big points because they are really important to me.
I am too nervous to play my best tennis.	If I perform, I am happy with myself whatever the result.	I tend to over-try and over-play in matches.

Success is not achieved by winning matches but by carrying out your game-plan with courage and conviction.

Matches are not personal things. Depersonalise the match process. If you win it is because you played your game well. If you lose it was your game-plan that failed, not you.

Become a true tennis professional

Pay attention to detail - the smallest thing may matter the most.
Be thorough - leave no stone unturned in seeking your goal.

Mental strength and maturity comes from:-

Reaching out from your comfort zone physically

Pushing yourself emotionally to a new limit

Accepting that you make mistakes and reacting to them positively

Winning matches comes with experience, time and patience:-

Not focusing on the outcome (results) of matches

Calm thinking in times of stress, to keep your composure

Sticking to your game-plan

Five essential questions to ask yourself

Make sure you can answer all these questions positively:-

Do I really want to be a tennis player?

Am I willing to pay the price?

Do I have the strength to do it?

Do I accept the responsibility for my own development?

Do I have the long-term patience to see it through?

by Jim Edgar