Tennis players understand how hard tennis is but even with this awareness, they still look for comfortable situations. It looks like nothing is bad with the comfort zone when you work hard every day but if you analyze the process more thoroughly, you quickly understand that it is not the recipe for success. The truth is that tough players are made by facing tough situations.
Tennis is tough. Every day is a battle to get better in different areas of tennis development and players have only 24 hours to score the biggest possible improvements. Waking up early, training 2 or 3 times a day, taking care of recovery as also keeping a healthy diet are the routines that are necessary to progress and positively impact own performance (read here how to push yourself to the limits to see extraordinary results). If you add travel, school duties, and personal life, you see that it is not possible to dedicate enough time to all necessary aspects.
The modern world is looking for comfort. Tennis players have access to brand-new facilities and they can work with individual coaches in a comfortable and professional environment. Parents try to protect their kids and they look for safety and lack of stress wherever it is possible. This „security” can look like a great choice but the reality is that it is impossible to avoid all difficult situations so rather than avoiding them, players should get ready and prepare how to deal with them effectively. Having this mindset allows us to understand how the environment and daily decisions can positively or negatively impact a player’s chances to succeed in the future.
Tennis players have to be tough because tennis is full of difficult situations. If they want to deal with uncomfortable factors, they have to possess the necessary skills that will allow them to do it. Facing tough situations is a good training tool for being uncomfortable and ready for the hard times:
Learn how to resist
A lot of players are afraid of tough situations because they don’t know how to react. They feel physical and mental pain, and their first reaction is to get out of this zone as soon as possible. However, the longer you stay in this zone, the bigger progress you will score. By facing tough situations, tennis players can learn to resist this uncomfortable feeling and be ready to do the same during the match. Opponents will always try to put players into this zone so not being scared of getting there is the first step to dominate the rivals.
Learn how to focus on solutions
Human beings can focus just on one thing at a time. It is important to learn how to direct your own focus with 100% control to be able to choose exactly where to put your own focus. When tennis players face tough situations, they tend to focus on difficulty. They feel the pain and they are aware of how uncomfortable their situation is. Because their focus is put on a specific area, they feel it much more than it actually occurs. That is why it is crucial to direct your own focus on finding solutions every time you are in a tough situation. Having this ability will allow you to not only stay in this situation without problems but it will also make you more effective with your actions.
Failure is not a problem
Tough situations are related to failing. Because of that, a lot of players, parents, and even coaches try to minimize exposure to these situations because they see the danger. If you understand that failure is the step to success, you will also discover the value of trying to face tough situations as often as possible. During the match, players have to deal both with tough moments and failures so they can’t avoid these factors but they can definitely learn how to make proper decisions and increase the chance of a successful finish. Your perception can either make you run away from difficult tasks or can make you want to test your skills.
If you want to get to the top, you can’t use only the easy road. Only the toughest players deal with many obstacles and they leave the rest of the participants behind because they can resist the pain and maintain the focus on the goal. Next time you face a tough situation, keep in mind that you are in the right place and at the right time to improve your game and get closer to winning in the next tournament.
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.
