Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have impressed us for years with their approach to the professional tennis career. At 36 and 37 years old respectively, they still don’t allow other players to win major titles and they look like they have a big advantage over much younger rivals in many aspects. Looking at the severity of a professional tennis career, how is that possible that these guys didn’t retire earlier to have a wonderful life under the palm tree?
A lot of young tennis players would love to achieve the same records as Novak and Rafa. They see how well they play tennis. They admire all the Grand Slam titles. They are aware of the money that these players have in their bank accounts. It all looks really appealing but at the same time, it also shows that only a few players in the last 2 decades were able to come close to this level of performance (read here how “old” players are able to win so many matches). So why do these competitors get to the top and stay there almost forever while others train hard but are not able to maintain high performance for longer periods of time?
In individual sports, many aspects have an impact on the final athletic performance. Player’s preparation is crucial but factors like injuries, personal problems, life priorities, or generation change make it really difficult to compete and win for many years in a row. One of the most important tools that is necessary to address is motivation. If a player doesn’t have the motivation to pursue his own goals and deal with a variety of obstacles, he will give up sooner or later and his performance will reflect his actions.
Champions are never bored with their career but they do struggle with daily priorities. They are tired, they would love to spend more time with family or they would just do something with the money they have. But right from the beginning of the day, they understand why it is necessary to get up and do daily activities related to tennis:
They love what they do
It is said that kids need a passion that will stay with them forever. That’s so true. You can achieve success just by training but if you have a passion, you open the door to have a successful career that will last for decades. Tennis champions love what they do and they derive energy from their passion. They love the sport, they love being better and they love looking for more. This love gives them a big advantage over the players who train hard but they do it just for the money or because it is the only life they know. If you love the pros and cons of your sport, it is much easier to deal with any obstacle on your road.
They focus on the future
The older you get, the more challenges you will have to face so proper perspective is crucial to maintain motivation to raise the bar every day. Champions focus on the future. Every time they struggle with something, they know where they are heading for. They know why they have to go through this uncomfortable situation and what will wait for them in the future. Other players don’t do it. They either focus on the past victories and are satisfied with these victories or they think about here and now and they don’t see the reason to do it all over and over again. Champions are motivated by the vision that can be accomplished only if they put work into daily activities.
They have mental tools
Every day, players have to deal with a variety of difficult situations. Sometimes players are tired, other times they are injured, Sometimes they lose in the first round or they see that their game is not improving at the expected pace. To find the solution, you need motivation and this inner energy has to be related to the specific mental tools. Tennis champions constantly develop their mental skills in advance, to be ready for possible difficulties in the future. They don’t address the problem when it arises but they prepare much earlier to be ready to deal with it in the future in the fastest possible way.
If you look at Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal accomplishments, you can be really impressed. For me, more impressive is how they continue this quest knowing all the difficulties that they have to face from Monday to Sunday. Learning from these guys helps to understand the necessary aspects that have to be included while working on own successful tennis career.
Marcin Bieniek is a professional tennis coach. You can contact Marcin through his personal coaching website http://marcinbieniek.info. Marcin has been working with USTA, top 50 ITF and WTA/ATP players. Author of tennis book “Tenisowy Olimp” and frequent contributor to TennisPro and TenisKlub magazines. He was a speaker at International Coaching Tennis Symposium 2016 and 2021 at Hilton Head Island, USA.