By Stewart Russell, RSPA Master Professional
Tennis often gets referred to as an individual sport, but I’m finding there is a lot of merit toward teaching the mental side of tennis as if it were a team activity.
I have had the privilege of working with many high-performance junior tennis players. One common theme among these Individuals is they all thrived and looked to enjoy doubles play as well as any team events in which they participated. Although many of them also achieved strong singles results/rankings, it always appeared like they were having more FUN when competing with others as part of a group/team. This got me thinking about whether there was something mentally I could draw from what was evident when watching these individuals compete.
Independent players who tend to repeatedly reprimand themselves, throw their hands up in the air, and/or constantly look to others (parents/coaches etc., may be dependent (others/team) for feedback. I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but what I am sure about is that the rhetoric/dialogue/body language appears to change when something negative happens and is not supplemented by anything encouraging at all. They all tend to play worse and most importantly do not look like they are having FUN.
Example: Student A is playing a singles match and for whatever reason their serve is not working. Double-fault after double-fault is followed up with the proverbial looking at the racquet, then hands up in the air, and “the look” to parents or coaches for help. This becomes mentally taxing on the individual as well as those who are watching.
Same student A is now playing a doubles match or is in a team event. Their serve is again off but after the first double-fault a partner/teammate says, “All good, no big deal; you got this.” One could make the case that this form of positive encouragement could be the mental Feedback U Needed to right the ship and get the serve back on track. It most certainly will come off and look more positive after a negative result than what usually occurs.
I am also finding students who reward themselves as a partner would after a positive shot/point/outcome with “good shot,” or “there you go” tend to carry themselves with more confidence and just might be the Feedback U Needed to give yourself when out on the island competing for yourself.
The individual sport of tennis can be lonely at times. Enjoy the journey, but most importantly do not feel or look like the weight of the world is on you to do it alone.
