Mental preparation: TENNIS MASTERCLASS by Patrick Mouratoglou, EPISODE 9
Summary
TLDRThis video script emphasizes the importance of mental preparation in tennis. It discusses how players often lose matches due to mental factors rather than skill, highlighting the need for clear, realistic goals that depend solely on the player. The script also advises on preparing mentally before a match, focusing on controllable elements to reduce stress and enhance performance.
Takeaways
- 🤔 Reflecting on matches often leads to the realization that you could have won, highlighting the importance of mental preparation.
- 🏆 Most players end matches feeling they could have won, suggesting a need for better mental strategies during play.
- 🧠 Mental strength is crucial in tennis, with the difference between victory and defeat often being psychological.
- 🎵 The speaker introduces the topic of mental preparation in tennis, emphasizing its significance at all levels of play.
- 🕒 Tennis matches have many breaks, providing ample time for mental preparation, but most players use this time unproductively.
- 🚫 Players often speak to themselves in a way that undermines their performance, indicating a need for positive self-talk.
- 💬 Body language is a reflection of internal thoughts, and changing self-talk can improve both mindset and body language.
- 🎯 Setting clear, realistic goals is essential for mental preparation, focusing on what you can control.
- 🚫 Winning is not a goal but a reward, and players should focus on controllable aspects of their game.
- 📝 Goals should be specific, realistic, and limited to three to avoid confusion and ensure focus.
- 📅 Mental preparation should be done as late as possible, ideally the morning of the match, to avoid overthinking and stress.
Q & A
How often do players typically feel that they could have won a match but lost due to mental factors?
-Most of the time, players end a match thinking they could have won, indicating that mental factors often play a significant role in determining the outcome of a match.
What are some common thoughts that players have after losing a match that might indicate a need for mental improvement?
-Players often think they should have played better on important points, stuck to their tactics, stayed focused, taken more chances, and avoided feeling angry or frustrated.
Why is mental preparation crucial in tennis, especially considering the amount of time players spend thinking during a match?
-Mental preparation is crucial because tennis matches provide many breaks and time to think, and players can use this time to mentally prepare, which can significantly impact their performance.
What percentage of match time is actually spent playing tennis, and how can this be used to mental advantage?
-Less than 20% of match time is spent actively playing tennis. This time can be used to mentally prepare and perform better, rather than being distracted.
How does body language relate to a player's mental state during a match?
-Body language translates what a player tells themselves internally. If a player thinks negatively, it will show in their body language, which can affect their performance.
What should be the focus of a player's goals in a tennis match?
-Goals should be focused on things that are solely dependent on the player, such as their actions and decisions, rather than external factors they cannot control.
Why is it important to set realistic goals for a tennis match?
-Realistic goals help a player to have a clear path to victory and reduce the stress associated with overambitious or unattainable objectives.
What is the recommended number of goals a player should set for a tennis match, and why?
-A maximum of three goals is recommended to avoid confusion and ensure that the player can remember and focus on them throughout the match.
When should a player prepare their goals for a match, and how should they approach this preparation?
-Players should prepare their goals as late as possible, ideally the morning of the match, to avoid overthinking and stress that can detract from their performance.
How can a player manage stress and maintain focus during a match by setting appropriate goals?
-By setting goals that are within their control and focusing on these goals, players can reduce stress and maintain a clear focus on what they can influence in the match.
What is the role of mental preparation in developing a player's future tennis style?
-Mental preparation helps in setting goals that align with a player's desired tennis style, which can guide their development and performance in future matches.
Outlines
🤔 Mental Strength in Tennis: Overcoming Defeat
This paragraph discusses the mental aspects of tennis and the importance of preparation before a match. It emphasizes that most players often feel they could have won a match, suggesting that the difference between victory and defeat is often mental. The speaker introduces the idea that tennis provides ample time for mental preparation, which is often misused by players as distraction time. The paragraph also touches on the significance of body language and self-talk, suggesting that positive self-talk combined with appropriate body language can be a powerful tool for mental readiness. The speaker promises to cover how to prepare mentally for a match and hints at a future video on maintaining mental strength during the match.
🎯 Setting Effective Tennis Goals for Mental Preparation
The second paragraph delves into the specifics of setting mental and tactical goals for a tennis match. It points out that many players go into matches without clear goals, which can lead to inconsistency in performance. The speaker advises that goals should be dependent solely on the player, realistic, conducive to winning, and aligned with the player's tennis style. Additionally, it is recommended to set a maximum of three goals to avoid confusion and ensure focus. The paragraph also highlights the importance of writing down these goals and reviewing them shortly before entering the court to ensure they are fresh in the player's mind. The speaker concludes by encouraging viewers to ask questions about mental preparation and to stay tuned for the next video on mental strength during matches.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Mental Efficiency
💡Preparation
💡Tactics
💡Focus
💡Opportunities
💡Body Language
💡Goals
💡Stress
💡Control
💡Self-Talk
💡Performance
Highlights
Most of the time, players end matches thinking they could have won, reflecting on what they should have done differently.
Mental elements are crucial in differentiating a victory from a defeat, both at leisure and professional levels.
Tennis provides many breaks and time to think, but most players use this time as a distraction.
Body language is a reflection of what you tell yourself, not the other way around.
Modifying the way you speak to yourself and matching it with body language can be a powerful tool.
Having clear goals is essential for mental preparation in tennis.
Winning is not a goal; it's a reward, and playing well is not a goal as it's not solely dependent on the player.
Goals should be dependent only on the player, realistic, and help develop their tennis style.
Setting a maximum of three goals is recommended to avoid confusion and ensure focus.
Preparing for a match should be done as late as possible to avoid overthinking and stress.
Writing down goals the morning of the match and reviewing them 30 minutes before entering the court is advised.
Goals can be tactical or mental, focusing on aspects like sticking to tactics or managing negative feelings.
High levels of stress can hinder performance, and focusing on controllable factors can help manage stress.
External factors like weather and surface should be ignored to maintain focus on controllable aspects of the game.
Control is key in managing stress, similar to the difference in fear levels when driving versus being a passenger.
Upcoming video will discuss how to be mentally strong during a match.
Transcripts
how many times per year do you lose a
match and you end up the match thinking
that your opponent was much too strong
and that you had no chance to win the
match not many times no no no most of
the time you end up the match thinking
that you could have won and when you say
that to yourself I hear I should have
won so what should you have done to win
you might think that you should have
played better on the most important
points you should have stick to the
tactics you should have stayed focused
on every point take more your chances
when you had the opportunities avoid
feeling angry and frustrated that this
ring a bell this being said most of the
elements that differentiate a victory
from a defeat are mental and what is
true at the Leisure level is also true
at the highest level this brings to the
main question how do I progress on the
mental
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side there are two key moments that as a
player you should use to be mentally
efficient in matches before the match
what I would call the preparation and
during the match which is between every
point and at every change over today
we're going to talk about how to prepare
mentally for a tennis match and later
I'll do a video on how to be strong
mentally during the match compared to
other sports tennis is providing a lot
of breaks and time to think did you know
that the time that you actually really
play tennis during a match represents
less than 20% of the time that just says
that 8 % of the match time could be used
to be mentally ready to perform
unfortunately it's used by most of the
players as a distraction time what I
mean is that players speak to themselves
in a way that makes them weaker a lot of
coaches speak about the body language
they want the players to have a positive
body language the only problem with that
is that the body language translates
what you tell yourself what you think
deep inside can you imagine a player
thinking I play so bad I'm such a loser
and at the same time have a positive
body language of course not body
language won't change the way you think
and won't change the way you speak to
yourself I don't believe that but on the
other hand if you are able to modify the
way you speak to yourself and emphasize
it with the adequate body language then
the combination becomes the most
powerful tool that you can build when
you get ready for the competition you
need to have clear goals I'm sure that
the immense majority of you just go to
the match without any goal if you do so
you have no grip on whether you'll win
or lose if you are on a great day you'll
probably win and you'll probably lose
most of the other days which actually
are are much more frequent too many
players focus on the wrong things
winning winning is not a goal winning is
a reward this is not a good goal forget
it playing well it doesn't depend on you
you can decide decide to play well so it
cannot be a goal it's interesting to see
that players who care too much about
playing well end up frustrated most of
the time they are the guys that you hear
saying I don't feel the ball today when
you set up your goals there are four
elements that you have to consider first
those goals have to depend only on you
for example you decide that you will
pump your fist on every point or you
decide that you will stay maximum 1 M
away from the Baseline the whole mat an
example of a bad goal would be I will
play deep you can decide that you will
play every shot with the goal to play
dip considering that it's better to play
out to deep than in the service box but
you cannot decide to play deep because
this is only a
wish two they have to be realistic set
goals that you know you have a good
chance to be able to make three you have
to set goals that if they are completed
you consider that you have a big chance
to win the match and at the same time
it's very important that your goals
develop your style of tennis for the
future four set up a maximum of three
goals not more if you go to a match with
too many goals you'll forget half of
them and you'll get confused when to
prepare for the match I would say as
late as possible I hate to do it the day
before with the players because they
kept thinking about it most of the time
they don't spend a good night they kind
of overthink they can come with too much
stress less energy because they burn a
lot of energy thinking and overthinking
about the match the morning of the match
write down your goals and I would say 30
minutes before entering the court read
it and make sure they are in your mind
and promise this to yourself I know that
those goals are ideal to win the match
but it's more important for me to live
the court having respected my goals than
winning the goals can be tactical or
mental it can be for example I will
stick stick to my opponent's back end
until I get a short ball and then I will
attack this is a tactical goal but it
can also be something like every time I
have a negative feeling during the match
I will tell this sentence to myself
sometimes you go to the match and the
level of stress is so high that you are
unable to play your tennis you have this
level of stress all the time because
your focus is not on goals that only
depend on you but on other things that
you cannot control when your focus is
there the fact that you don't have
control on it brings the level of stress
to a very high level easy to understand
somebody drives a car 200 km per hour
you are super scared you drive the same
speed but you have the wheel you are
much less scared because in one case you
feel you have the control in the other
case somebody else has it once again the
only way to lower your stress level is
to stay focused on things that you
control control all the exterior factors
like the weather the surface so many
things that can enter your mind you put
them out you focus only on what makes
you perform well we're done for the
match preparation now if you have any
question regarding it or regarding any
mental question feel free to leave me a
comment and I will be happy to answer
get ready for the next video about the
mental which will be about how to deal
on the mental side during a match and if
you like my videos subscribe to my
YouTube channel see
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you
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