If you have ever played the game of tennis, you know that no matter how fast and how strong you are, if your head isn't in the game, you are going to lose. This is true for players new to the game and for those athletes who have been playing tennis for many many years. In order to play a truly successful game of tennis, you need to be mentally fit as well as physically fit.
Like physical fitness, mental fitness fits into the same four categories: strength, flexibility, speed and agility. Strength is the first important component. When you look at strength as a purely physical concept, it is seen as providing strong resistance to outside forces. For example, being able to life heavy weights. However, in terms of mental fitness, strength is being able to provide strong resistance under extreme levels of emotional pressure.
Flexibility is the next component. Physical flexibility allows you to get into different positions in order to react to whatever shot is being sent your way. Mental flexibility does the same, though instead of being able to stretch your body, you can stretch your mind. You could look at this time of flexibility as creativity and the ability to control your emotions throughout the game.
Speed is the next component. As a physical attribute it allows you to react quickly to each shot, reaching it's destination in plenty of time to return the ball successfully. Mental speed allows your mind to move quickly and stay at pace with the game. It wont matter how quick your body can be, if your mind doesn't trigger it to move fast, you wont get to your shots in time.
The last mental skill you will need is agility. As a physical attribute it refers to the ability to move, stop and change direction quickly without forfeiting control. It also encompasses the ability to recover from problems such as a loss of balance. As a mental trait, it requires that negotiate a wide range of emotions. You will need to stay mentally and emotionally balanced even when things are not going your way.
No matter how physically skilled you are at the game of tennis, and no matter how physically fit you are, your mental state plays an important roll in your execution of the game. As you improve physically, your mental prowess must increase as well. Once you have learned to "get your head in the game", you will see remarkable improvements in your performance.
Sydney Garrison is an avid cyclist and sports enthusiast. She is also a partner in an online bike carrier store.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sydney_Garrison
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Importance-of-Mental-Fitness-in-Tennis&id=2854466
Wednesday
Great tennis comebacks - Monica Seles
Monica Seles burst onto the professional tennis scene at the tender age of 14, and played in her first grand slam final at the 1989 French Open, where she lost to World Number One Steffi Graf (who was later to marry Andre Agassi) in three sets. The following year the two met again in the French Open final, where this time Seles emerged the victor, and in so doing became the youngest winner of the French Open, at the age of 16 and a half.
Known as much for her trademark on-court grunting as her feisty and tenacious play, she was utterly dominant in 1991 and 1992, where she won the Australian Open, French Open and US Open both years (she didn't compete at Wimbledon in 1991 due to injury and was the losing finalist there in 1992).
Monica looked set to continue in the same vein in 1993, but then was tragically stabbed in the back by a deranged Steffi Graf fan during a changeover at a tournament in Hamburg. Fortunately she was not seriously injured physically, but the incident left lasting psychological scars which kept her out of tennis for over two years, during which time she battled depression and a food disorder. She vowed never to play in Germany again after her attacker was spared jail and simply given probation and psychological treatment.
It's a credit to Monica that she made a successful comeback to the sport in 1995, losing in the final of the US Open (once again to Steffi Graf), then going on to win the 1996 Australian Open for the fourth time. But sadly she never quite managed to reach her former heights as a player, and this was to be her final grand slam victory. Ironically, the stabbing incident endeared her to the tennis public and she enjoyed far greater support in the latter part of her career than when she was previously unstoppable.
Known as much for her trademark on-court grunting as her feisty and tenacious play, she was utterly dominant in 1991 and 1992, where she won the Australian Open, French Open and US Open both years (she didn't compete at Wimbledon in 1991 due to injury and was the losing finalist there in 1992).
Monica looked set to continue in the same vein in 1993, but then was tragically stabbed in the back by a deranged Steffi Graf fan during a changeover at a tournament in Hamburg. Fortunately she was not seriously injured physically, but the incident left lasting psychological scars which kept her out of tennis for over two years, during which time she battled depression and a food disorder. She vowed never to play in Germany again after her attacker was spared jail and simply given probation and psychological treatment.
It's a credit to Monica that she made a successful comeback to the sport in 1995, losing in the final of the US Open (once again to Steffi Graf), then going on to win the 1996 Australian Open for the fourth time. But sadly she never quite managed to reach her former heights as a player, and this was to be her final grand slam victory. Ironically, the stabbing incident endeared her to the tennis public and she enjoyed far greater support in the latter part of her career than when she was previously unstoppable.
Friday
Andre Agassi's autobiography: Open
I guess life at the top is hard. Andre Agassi, in his recent autobiography Open, describes the unravelling that occurs at the top level as a centrifugal force that disrupts a player physically, mentally and emotionally. Incidentally, John McEnroe describes in his book Serious how he went through a fairly similar process when he was at the top.It's funny because I've always kind of assumed I'd enjoy tennis more if I could be better and win more, but the message these guys are delivering is that the better you get and the more you win, the less you seem to enjoy it! It seems being ranked Number One is far less enjoyable than my own Infinity ranking - which leads me to wonder what the optimal world ranking is for enjoying the game. 100? 500? 10,000? If anyone knows, please let me know!
As I mentioned previously, when I first heard about Andre's drugs revelation in the book I was a bit cynical that it was just a ploy to sell more copies. Well, that may be true, but read in context it's just part of the overall psychological mess that he seems to have ended up in back in 1997 - personal, relational and professional problems piled on top of each other. As Andre reminds us repeatedly in the book, he truly hates tennis!
The rest of the book chronicles his journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance in transforming himself from that kid who hates tennis to someone who uses his God-given talent to help others. For it is in looking out for the needs of others that he finds the meaning and fulfillment that he never could in tennis itself. It's a lesson we all need to learn in one way or another, I guess.
I also found it interesting to read Andre's take on his relationship with Brad Gilbert, because I read Brad's book Winning Ugly earlier this year. Andre mostly glosses over the change to his mental approach that Brad introduced and talks about a lot in his (Brad's) book, but interestingly he does appear to credit Brad with the intervention late in 1997 that sparked his comeback to the top level. Actually Andre talks a lot in the book about how important his team was to his success - another important life lesson right there.
The book is well written (perhaps surprisingly as Andre reveals that he dropped out of high school in the ninth grade - then again he'll have had help writing it, of course) and left me with a greater insight into the pitfalls of success and fame. It's a compelling read and I'd certainly recommend it to anyone with even a passing (no pun intended) interest in tennis.
Sunday
Great Tennis Comebacks - Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis became the youngest grand slam singles winner of the 20th century when she won the 1997 Australian Open, aged just 16 years and three months. Shortly after that she became the youngest ever world number one. Between 1997 and 2000 the "Swiss Miss" was practically unstoppable, winning numerous grand slam events in both singles and doubles, and dominating the women's game.
Unfortunately in 2001 and then again in 2002 she was forced to take time off for surgery on her ankle tendons and was not able to maintain her form. This resulted in Martina announcing her retirement from tennis in 2003, at the age of just 22 - which seems very young, but then again she had been playing professionally from the age of 14!
Luckily we had not seen the last of her, as she made a comeback in 2006. Overall she had a good year with several wins over top 10 opponents, and managed a couple of tournament wins too, to finish the year ranked number seven in the world. The following year continued in a similar vein, although she was once again affected by injuries, which culminated in her November 2007 announced of her permanent retirement from competitive tennis. No doubt the timing of this had a lot to with with the fact that she had tested positive for cocaine during Wimbledon 2007 (although she maintained her innocence and had an independent test done which came back negative). In any event, she was subsequently banned from the WTA tour for two years and did not contest it.
It's a pity Martina's comeback was so short-lived as she was undoubtedly one of the most talented players of her generation and could have cemented her position as one of the all-time greats by reclaiming her former spot at the top of the world rankings, and possibly adding to her tally of majors.
Unfortunately in 2001 and then again in 2002 she was forced to take time off for surgery on her ankle tendons and was not able to maintain her form. This resulted in Martina announcing her retirement from tennis in 2003, at the age of just 22 - which seems very young, but then again she had been playing professionally from the age of 14!
Luckily we had not seen the last of her, as she made a comeback in 2006. Overall she had a good year with several wins over top 10 opponents, and managed a couple of tournament wins too, to finish the year ranked number seven in the world. The following year continued in a similar vein, although she was once again affected by injuries, which culminated in her November 2007 announced of her permanent retirement from competitive tennis. No doubt the timing of this had a lot to with with the fact that she had tested positive for cocaine during Wimbledon 2007 (although she maintained her innocence and had an independent test done which came back negative). In any event, she was subsequently banned from the WTA tour for two years and did not contest it.
It's a pity Martina's comeback was so short-lived as she was undoubtedly one of the most talented players of her generation and could have cemented her position as one of the all-time greats by reclaiming her former spot at the top of the world rankings, and possibly adding to her tally of majors.
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