The Power of Acceptance - On-Court Training Drills

Key Points

• Start off swinging at 50% for around a minute, focusing on timing the ball really well
• Progress to swinging at 75% for 1 minute and then to 90%
• The inability to accept an unwanted outcome will stop you from playing freely
• The “avoidance mindset” is where you can’t handle the feeling of missing or losing which makes it very difficult to swing freely
• Accept the range of feelings you feel as a tennis player
• Try to accept any outcome prior to a match and then recognise what that acceptance feels like in your body
• Low level acceptance statements: ‘I should be able to win this match’ ‘Don’t miss’ ‘I’m going to give up tennis if I lose to this player’
• High level acceptance statements ‘I want to play freely without a guarantee’ ‘ Let’s see what happens’ ‘No matter what happens, I am going to be okay’ ‘I want to walk off this court a better player’ ‘I’m grateful to be out here playing tennis’
• ‘What does it feel like in the body to know that I’m not going to let the fear of missing stop me from playing freely here’
• A high level of acceptance is to know that you might miss but you’ll still swing freely