Know Thyself - How Being an Expert on Yourself Enables You to Play Your Best Tennis

Too often, tennis players look for solutions to their tennis challenges outside of them - in books, lessons and online resources.

And too often tennis players want to know more about their tennis techniques: how they fare mentally in the match and how smart their tennis strategy is.

But very rarely do they explore their insides - the mind and the body - and know how they work when they are playing tennis.

Let's start with two examples and then move on to some suggestions how knowing yourself can help you play better tennis.

1. Automatic improvement of my serve

When I start the match and my serve is not going really well, I DON'T try to fix anything. Why?

Because I know that after 15 to 20 minutes I'll get warmed up really well, I'll adjust to the current conditions (balls, temperature, court, surroundings) and I'll get better feel for the serve since every missed and every good serve gives me feedback.

So, I know that my mind will start taking information from the serves already served in this match and make slight adjustments to the timing and swing and this will happen totally subconsciously.

I also know that my body will get more flexible and give me better feedback - feel - for the serve after I have served a few.

So, I am 100% sure that my serve will improve in time in a tennis match.

That's because I know myself - my mind and body.

2. Getting rid of nervousness

If I feel nervous at the start of the match, I don't panic. It's slightly inconvenient but my opponent is very likely nervous too, so the conditions are the same for both of us.

I know that when I start playing, my concentration on the strategy, the ball and my opponent will take over and I will simply forget to be nervous.

I also know that when I get totally warmed up and sweating, the slightly shaky feeling in my arms and legs will disappear.

Again, I don't have to do anything special to get rid of nervousness. I can help with some relaxation techniques and slow breathing, but even that's not necessary.

In fact, the more I will resist nervousness, the more it will persist. So I just accept it, don't care too much about it and keep playing.

Again - I know myself from hundreds of previous matches where anxiety simply disappeared in the heat of the match.

Do You Know Yourself?

Knowing how your mind and body adapt and work in a tennis match will save you a lot of worrying and win you many more matches.

Here are some of the things you should know about yourself:

1. What do you need to eat and drink the day before and on the day of the match to feel energized and hydrated?

2. How much sleep do you need to be fully rejuvenated the next day?

3. How much warm up (and how should you do it) do you need to be totally activated and ready to play your best tennis from the first point?

4. How do your strokes (forehand, backhand, serve, return, volley) change (improve?) during the match?

5. Do you have any tricks or tips to help you improve each stroke sooner? (For example: I know that if my return is not good, I need to focus on watching the ball. As soon as I can see the ball clearly all the way to my racquet, I start hitting much cleaner returns.)

6. When do your mind and body typically fatigue in match? After 1 hour? 2 hours? Do you know how to fight fatigue at those moments?

7. Can you anticipate the moments when you typically get nervous in a match (serving for the set, playing an easy overhead, hitting a sitter) and mentally prepare for them in advance so that you'll minimize the effect of nerves at those moments?

Knowing the answers to these 7 questions will give you a good understanding of yourself, and you'll be able to predict how your body and mind will adapt in the match.

You'll also know how to best prepare yourself for a match based on the knowledge you have about yourself.

Your goal is to become an expert on yourself and know how to make the best of your abilities, skills and talents. Combine that with smart, simple and effective tennis instruction and you're on your way to playing the best tennis you are capable of.