The inner game of tennis is very important to your success. Timothy Gallwey wrote the “Inner Game of Tennis” many years ago and it was a groundbreaking book at the time. You should read the inner game of tennis if you have not.
Tim says that players must achieve skill mastery first, which means you must learn the fundamentals of your sport. When you play your best tennis, he would say your mind is quiet with no interference caused by self-criticism or over-analysis, such as “keep your eyes on the ball” or “bend your knees.”
The inner game of tennis theory states that two opposing mindsets battle for supremacy. A quite tennis mind allows your performance to flow from creativity. However, when your tennis mind is overactive, you force your game.
Gallwey sums up his theory the inner game of tennis:
Self One: The “teller” tennis mind filled with self-judgments and criticism. This mindset wants to over-control your performance.
Self Two: The “doer” mindset is the best mindset for peak performance in tennis and happens when you are free and react with your game. This mindset allows you to let it happen.
Gallwey’s goal was to help students stop the attack of self one so self two can be free to hit shots freely. He used an example in “The Inner Game of Tennis.” He would have his students repeat cue words, such as “back-hit” to suspend the trying/analytical mind (self 1) so the creative mind (self 2) could do the job without restrictions.
“The key to better tennis--or better anything--lies in improving the relationship between the conscious teller, Self 1, and the unconscious, automatic doer, Self 2.”
~Tim Gallwey
Most tennis players will perform their very best when the mind is quiet (not overactive) and focused. You’ll both excel in this mindset and have the most fun. I apply the Inner Game of Tennis principles with my students. I teach my students about two important mindsets: a learning mindset and a performance mindset.
When in a learning or practice mindset, you are trying to improve your strokes, which is necessary to improve your game. Here is one big problem with this mindset: perfectionistic tennis players get “stuck” in the practice mindset and fall in love with perfecting their technique.
When you are playing with a trusting or performance mindset, you allow your skills to “happen” instinctively based on what you’ve learned in practice. The performance mindset is the quiet mind that Gallwey talks about as self 2, which allows you to perform instinctively. When playing in the trusting mode, your performance is on automatic pilot.
With your inner game of tennis during tournaments, the take away lesson is you have to play in the performance mindset. Don’t get trapped by the practice mindset during tennis matches. You’ll spend more time coaching yourself and analyzing your strokes, which will slow you down on the court. You want to have a good balance between the performance and practice mindsets to set the foundation for a good inner game of tennis!
Tennis Mind Game: Tennis Confidence Checklist for Big Matches
What does it truly mean to believe in yourself? When you believe in yourself, you have full confidence in your physical skills and ability to execute shots in tennis. My definition of self-confidence for tennis is how strongly you believe in your ability to execute a successful shot or win a match. Don’t confuse believe in yourself (self-confidence) with self-esteem. Self-esteem is all about how you view yourself and how you appraise your self-concept (how you see yourself), also called self-worth.
Tennis Psychology: Practice Confidence vs. Match Confidence
Do you play tennis with a ton of confidence in practice, but have trouble taking your practice game to matches? If so, you are not alone. Many of my players are more comfortable in their practice routines than in matches. They lose trust in their strokes that worked well in practice.
Tennis Psychology: Controlling Frustration on the Court
Do you get frustrated when you are not playing up to your potential?
