Tip of the Week: Talk To Yourself in Practice and During a Match

Tennis can be a lonely sport. Until recently, even the pros were completely on their own during their matches. Although coaching is allowed on tour these days, the players still have the most control of how the match is played, as well as the outcome. 

Self coaching can be extremely helpful on the court. If you hit a poor shot, try to pick one or two basic thoughts to make a correction. Tell yourself to watch the ball, recover and get ready, or follow through before you play the next point or rally. This will give you a great chance to improve on what just happened. 

If you play a point well or if you have a great rally in a practice session, remind yourself to repeat some of the basic things that allowed you to do that. Repeating a successful play or rally is a key to being consistent. The self talk and coaching used during your 25 seconds in a match or the time in between rallies or drills can be the road to improving and being successful. 

Take a few seconds to talk to yourself positively, in both the match and practice situations to build confidence and learn from your experiences on court. 

Steve Annacone, USPTA Elite Pro, is the Director of Annacone Tennis,  www.annaconetennis.com and MyHamptonsPro, www.myhamptonspro.com throughout the Hamptons, NY. In addition, Steve, Phil Lepisto, and Gill Gross run the ACT (Advanced Competition Team) program at the Tucson Jewish Community Center (Tucson, AZ) for high level players ages 8-18. Please contact Steve at sannacone@tucsonjcc.org or 865-300-7323