Sport Psychology: The Unfair Advantage for Every Serious Tennis Player

Jack N. Singer, Ph.D.

Certified and Consulting Sport Psychologist

You have a comfortable lead in your match and you’re already thinking about whom you will be playing in your next match. And then it happens; you’ve lost your focus and your opponent begins to win points and games. You become increasingly nervous and frustrated and your opponent senses that she/he really has a chance to win. In short order, you watch certain victory turn into ugly defeat.

You ask yourself what happened? Why did it happen? What could you have done differently that would have prevented your melt down? What do you need to know to prevent this from happening again? What about your confidence? How will you feel, emotionally, going into your next match?

Or consider the following: Your child’s coach informs you that she/he plays much better in practice than in tournaments. Moreover, the child seems to step up his/her play against opponents they are not supposed to beat, but they lose to opponents who are much lower in ranking or whom they have beaten before. Why do these things happen?

These are common events and frequent questions that all tennis players, their coaches and parents have faced…and the good news is that all of these questions have simple answers and the problems are certainly “fixable!”

Every coach and every serious tennis player understands that technique, physical conditioning and game strategy can only go so far in determining success in tennis. The mental and emotional contributors to success are huge. Some players believe that tennis is as much as 90% mental and 10% physical. It’s really hard to say; but what we can say with certainty is that as athletes get older and closer to each other in terms of their physical abilities, talent and technique, mental strength becomes the key difference maker.

When contributions to excellence in any sport are calculated, usually the most important…yet least trained…are the roles of mental and emotional processes in performance. Coaches focus on “left brain” training, including technique, the geometry of the court and game strategies. “Right brain” training is largely ignored. The right brain deals with emotions, self-talk, mood, balance, visualizations and mind pictures…all of which can have a tremendously positive impact on tennis success.

A USTA study of fifty-one American tennis champions found that they attributed their successes primarily to emotional and mental toughness. Over the past 30 years a new science, “Sport Psychology,” has emerged, with a strong research base of skills sets aimed at giving the athlete every advantage available to supplement his/her athletic preparation. These skill set objectives include training in the following: mental toughness and intensity, self-confidence, regardless of the competition and score, getting into and staying in “the zone,” overcoming worry and anxiety during competition, preventing and overcoming injuries, perfecting pain management and maintaining anger and emotional control at “crunch time.”

In my experience with athletes at all levels, the four keys to developing emotional and mental toughness are: confidence building; controlling one’s internal dialogue; managing stress, anger and other negative emotions before and during matches; and developing supreme focus skills, including ignoring distractions.

Peak performance…performing your very best at any particular point in time…is only attained when you have a combination of mental, emotional, and physical qualities working in harmony. Consistently performing at peak levels is perhaps the biggest challenge that serous juniors face, and again, mental and emotional training for consistency is largely ignored by their coaches.

And now there is a relatively new, emerging strategy being provided for athletes…self hypnosis! The power of self-hypnosis in many aspects of life is now scientifically proven and its power for young tennis players is truly amazing…I call it the ultimate unfair advantage! Teaching self-hypnosis to tennis players (even young ones) so they can control their internal dialogue, manage stress and visualize success has proven to be a huge difference maker. Most Sport Psychologists are not trained in Sport Hypnosis, so you must find a Certified Sport Hypnosis expert in order to help your youngster develop those powerful skills.

Like any tennis skills, Sport Psychology and hypnosis skills need to be practiced in order to be perfected. Every serious player has the opportunity to develop these skills and make them their “best friends” on the court. It’s really a no-brainer!

Dr. Jack Singer is a practicing Sport Psychologist, author, trainer and consultant. Jack has a Diplomate in Behavioral Medicine and he has recently been recognized by the National Institute of Sports as both a Certified Sport Psychologist and a Diplomate in Sport Psychology. This recognition is only granted to ½ of one percent of all psychologists who apply for it. In addition, Jack is recognized as a Certified Clinical and Sport Hypnosis expert by the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis.

Jack has taught in the Psychology departments of seven universities, including four years as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He is heard on ESPN, FOX SPORTS, and on countless sports radio talk shows throughout the U.S. Jack is also on the advisory board of “Championship Performance,” where his articles appear regularly.

He is the author if 3 hypnotic CD series specifically for athletes and he consults with athletes and teams across the U.S.,

“In more than 20 years of coaching competitive tennis players I have never had a more effective tool for mentally preparing players for intense competition than hypnotic CD series, Dr. Jack. Wish I had this tool when I was on the pro circuit!!”

Harmann Pappas

Former ATP tour Player, Professional Tennis Coach

Jack can be reached at his office at (949) 481-5660 and on his cell number is (949) 510-5660. He will be on the site at the National Tournament, here in Mobile, to answer your questions and help your youngsters achieve peak performance! In addition, Jack will have a limited supply of his hypnotic CD series available on site.

You certainly want your child to perform at his or her best, consistently. Dr. Jack is here to show them how.