What Lies Beneath?

Tennis Players hold beliefs about themselves, the game and tennis life that impact their ability to cope in a tennis environment. This is because those beliefs are often untrue and unhelpful.

Tennis Competitors have checked and challenged their beliefs, they know the territory of a tennis environment so they are better prepared for it.

The picture shows the probability of winning a match based on the percentage of points won. A player with a belief/expectation that they should be winning 60% plus of points in a competitive match is likely to amplify their feelings of frustration and anger.

Another example of this we’ve come across lately and helped a coach guide the player towards more truthful and helpful beliefs is;

An attacker player who when asked shared their belief that they thought they should be winning 90+ of the points when they create an attacking opportunity. This was checked and challenged using the TennisViz INSIGHTS data on conversion scores, which gives an ATP tour average of 66% of points won when players had an attacking opportunity in the point. With a new more truthful and helpful belief and feedback in line with this reality the player experienced a reduction in their frustration of losing points when attacking to more manageable levels.

If you are interested in checking and challenging the beliefs of players you work with you can find out more in the Tennis Competitor Match Management Edition ebook in the Ahead of the Game Store.