Mental Skills and Psychologically Conditioning the Players

Key Points

• Addressing negative body language and self-talk right after losing a point is crucial for players
• Players should face consequences for their decisions and actions, and they must be held accountable for themselves
• Set a precedent with your players that you will not accept excuses
• Mental toughness means not 'bailing out on a point' or resorting to low percentage shots when things aren’t going your way
• Teach your players to endure everything thrown their way and create an environment that builds mental toughness
• Create scenarios where players use different rackets or old balls to instill a mindset of resilience, teaching them to handle any situation without complaining
• Give players handicaps, such as starting games down love-30 or having only one serve, to mimic pressure situations and improve their resilience
• Watch full matches, not just highlights, of the world's best players to observe how they conduct themselves between points and how they handle pressure situations