How To Battle Self Doubt During Matches

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Do you find that you have a lot of self doubt when you hit the tennis court even before every shot? Hi, I'm Dr. Patrick Cohn. In today's session, I answer a question about how to block out distractions and deal with self doubt when you play tennis. Here's a question I receive from John. How can I remove my self doubt that precedes every single shot I take in matches? I also want to learn how to block out all the distractions around me while I'm playing tennis. Please help.

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John, I'm going to approach in a different direction. Obviously you don't want a lot of self doubt before every single shot. That really indicates to me that there's a lack of confidence there. So really maybe the direction to go in is to help you develop a greater sense of confidence and focus on what's important. If you're doubting every shot, that means you don't think you can hit your target. You don't think you can win the point, for example, or you don't think you can execute a shot like you've been able to in a practice situation. In any of those scenarios, it's not a good scenario for you. And if you're doubting every single shot, like I said, there's some real work.

That you have to do on confidence.

Because what you really need to focus.

On is your ability to hit the shot to the target. Now, not the perfect shot, obviously, every time. It doesn't have to feel perfect, it doesn't have to look perfect, it doesn't have to go directly to your target, but the ability to just get the ball to your target based upon your game plan and what you're trying to do in that particular match. So as far as confidence goes, I'd be interested in knowing how high your confidence is when you practice versus when you go to a match. That's often what I see with very hard working, committed, dedicated players is they have a high level of confidence when they practice and that seems to disintegrate when they go to matches. But in terms of helping you feel more confident, why don't you try to simply repeat a simple saying to yourself like I've got this shot or I've hit this shot thousands or hundreds of times in practice, or this ball is going directly to my target. This is a strategy we use to help players be more proactive with their confidence, and it's simply using positive self talk and telling yourself what you want to have happen in that particular situation, at least you're trying to override some of the doubt. As for blocking out the distractions around you while you're playing tennis, don't think of as you're trying to block out those distractions. Think of it as what you need to focus on to help you execute and perform your best. One shot, one point at a time.

You really can't block out distractions. As I said, that really doesn't work because you just bring more attention to the distraction. What I want you to do is decide what's important to focus on for your serve. Your ground strokes, your volley, your overhead. What are the what we call the performance cues that are going to help you execute those shots? And instead of trying to block things out that are going on around you, I want you to focus on those particular performance cues. It could be things like seeing the ball well or taking the ball early or going to the net often, for example, something to help lock you into.

What you're doing on the court.

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