Mental preparation: TENNIS MASTERCLASS by Patrick Mouratoglou, EPISODE 9
In this 9th episode of Tennis Masterclass, we talk about how to prepare mentally for a tennis match. There are two key moments that can help you become a mentally more efficient player - before the match (the preparation) and during the match (in between points and during the changeover).
One of the key things we need to pay attention to is our self-talk during matches and the body language we exhibit, and the twoare directly corelated. It's also extremely important to have clear goals, mental and/ or tactical, during a match and focus on those goals rather than on winning the matches.
During this session, I tell you the key elements of a good goal and when you should prepare for a match. At the end, I talk about how you can reduce the stress that you go through before or during a match so listen carefully!!
Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
0:20 - What players think when they lose matches
0:46 - How to progress on the mental side
1:03 - How to prepare mentally before a match
1:41 - How your self-talk affects your body language and confidence
2:25 - The importance of having clear and the right type of goals for a match
3:08 - The four elements of a good goal
4:12 - When to prepare for a match
4:49 - Examples of mental and tactical goals
5:07 - Why some players get overstressed before or during matches
5:48 - The only way to lower our stress levels
6:08 - Conclusion
#tennis #tennistip #tennistips #mental
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THE COACH
Patrick
Sir your videos are very helpful for those who don't have good training at international level .... thank you sir ..🙏👍
hi! i'm a 15yo guy from italy, with not enought money to go to your tennis school :( i'm training very hard. i train every freaking day for about two/ two and a half hours, i'm interested on the mental part, the visualization and the streching part also. i read a lot, and i'm trying to learn as much as possible! i really want to come to your tennis centre but i actually can't. you are really inspiring me, and thank to you i'll never give up! never in a million years! thank you very much Patrick! and remember y'all: fall 7 times get up 8 !
Watching this and mentally preparing for a league match tonight.
Apart from the music (free non-copyright), Patrick's video's are the most professionally produced, shot & edited on KZhead. With his strong accent he knows how to speak slowly and articulate. His content is well written and planned. These are the best advertisements for his Academy at Nice. He obviously has a production team behind him which helps but the content starts with him. A great teacher and ambassador for the game.
I was kind of wondering if he had a team of writers too. If you get big enough, you can have the public face and ideas but can deliver better with support people (like a presidential speechwriter).
You should ask him! My guess is that he decides what tip he wants to give, writes in note form what he wants to say, then ad libs it on camera. That's the best way to speak naturally in front of either camera or group of people@@satjiwan
In tennis, like in life, people want to win, no matter how, instead of doing things good. They believe the result says how good they are.
Just like ever, my favourite coach! You have touched two tips that I like a lot: writing and journaling to clear your mind before and after the match(but this habit is useful not only for tennis player) and the stoic thought. Many tennis coaches are too much focused on the victory and they only create further pressure on their player, who is already worried about losing. Every coach has to teach to their players to focus only on things they can control, from the first training of their life! Thank you coach Mouratoglu, daily inspiration!
The parts about setting up goals really inspired me. Thanks patrick.
Love you channel, and your lessons. I usually work on one major goal.... something like Watch the Ball, or ghost to the net with every shot I make which is hit aggressively and puts my opponent on defense. Yes, my goals are as you describe, something in my power to do and if done lead to better tennis. I am looking forward to you mental work "during" the match.
Thanks for the video. ….good topic! Playing deep to a weak side is definitely a tactical goal.
Wow this words have to be engraved in gold: Winning is not a goal, it is a reward
Wow, thanks for this video, Patrick! I could’ve developed more effectively and efficiently in my game had I used principles like these. Takes stress off, detach from the outcome. Great video! Looking forward to next one.
Thank you, Patrick! Merci beaucoup.
Super video. Life lesson right there. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing great tips. I'm getting more conscious mentality is huge part of tennis match. This would help a lot!
Thank you for magnificent tips 🙏🏻❤️
Excellent!
Hi Patrick. Thank you very much for all the lesson ❤🌞
Thank you sir for your videos and shorts, a lot help me to improve my tennis skills and mentally.. I stop playing when start of my junior high and just start playing again in May this year so a very long years in time hiatus and many change I need to adjust in technically or technology though I have the basics.. With your videos and other, really help me a lot improving my performance, because I'm participating in tennis Amateur League in my city so videos like this really help me a lot in self learning.. Thank you again sir..
Wonderful, life lessons here Patrick. You really are a nonpareil Maestro!
Amazing Patrick !
Thank you for sharing this video
Perfekt Video. Very easy to understand. So I can prepare my son for the next Match.
Great advice. Thx
Hi @Patrick Mouratoglou, thanks for the video. This is really helpfull and there is not so many videos talking about this topic with such clear steps and instructions. I still have some doubts with how to manage the goals: - If I have the goal to play cross court with my backhand (as a tacktical goal), but I realize my oponent is very strong with this move and is consitantly winning the point. Should I switch the goal? - Could you give a list of goals that you think would be useful for beginners and amateur players who may have been playing for a little while? Thank you very much!
KISS: Keep attacking your opponent with shots he can't handle. For example, if your opponent is always standing very close to the net, lob the shit out out him. He won't feel like a volleying genius any more.
Wonderful video Patrick ❤❤❤ please make video on how to chart the performance of player by watching him play the match so that coaches and parents can give valuable feedback to the player.
Right video for my Match today against a taff opponent 👍👍👍
This helped a lot ❤
I went to Mourtgalou this summer with my two childern in a one week intensive camp and unfortunately we were not able to have even one session in mental coaching. It would be great to offer this service as add on
Patrick, Probably your best video yet! I would have liked to explore this advice more on my weekend camp at Biot earlier this month. But the coaches did not talk about mental prep. Can you give examples of good goals? Like only play to my opp back hand until i get a short ball. I need more examples of good goals within my control. Thx.
Thank you sir, for sharing such an inspirational video. I request you to make a similar video which would understood by budding tennis kids.❤
very good and useful video
Thank you for this incredible and valuable lesson and video. Question, can you discuss the role of balance and how it fits into tennis? I see Novak Djokovic playing and he is so unbalance every single point. It's almost hard to knock him off. I think that's one of his most underrated assets
Thanks!
Bravo! I’ve talked with lots of ITF Futures players and they never even heard of The Inner Game Of Tennis book by Timothy Gallwey. Wow. That’s why they are so lost and confused and rarely meet their potential. They should listen to you here at the very least. I win matches with my mind. Sure my forehand is king, but it’s my mind that does that deed 🎾🇬🇷🥇🏆
"Your focus, needs more focus"👀 - Mr Han
I’m 13 years, and I never know what to eat before my Match. Please reply thank you. Great videos
Super useful. Easy to understand, but difficult to master :)
Great tips but above all let's congratulate your video editor. He/she has done a really good job!!👍👍
Très bon conseils,, merci Patrick
Hi Patrick, excellent video and advice! My son struggles with the rhythm of the match, when he is playing well, his shot selection, body language and movement are much better, but when he drops off, he tends to stay in that low period much longer, and his movement drops, his shot selection is poorer and his mental game declines. Eventually it all comes back but I was wondering is there a goal you can suggest that would help him get through the low periods of the match and hopefully reduce the impact and duration they last?
Hopefully, he’ll answer this in a future video, but he did suggest useful mental preparation in this vid that helps. On my list is: don’t think. Thinking is like breathing and happens automatically, it never needs to be overdone consciously and certainly shouldn’t get out of control. My guess is that he needs to come up with a brainless strategy that helps avoid out of control thinking that ends up dogging his emotions and his game. Consider that one of his main unhelpful thoughts might be, “Dad is watching everything about me and judging everything I do and boy am I going to get a ‘helpful’ earful about this & that and my tanking attitude on the ride home.” I only suggest this as it was a deadly trait of my thinking back when my father would pick apart every aspect of my game and despair at how I wasn’t reaching my full potential. It stayed with me into adulthood, even when he wasn’t there, he was there in my mind. What is brainless strategy? Currently, I think of Sinner’s orange shoes. He used to wear neon orange shoes; it was great because you could focus on just his footwork and not him. Nobody moves better on court. Nobody. And footwork is PARAMOUNT in tennis. Thinking of those orange shoes gracefully and efficiently flying around the court automatically gets me moving better: no thinking required. That’s only an example. But the no-think trick has to be personal and private to him and ONLY him.
Thank you for all your videos. They are so helpful. Do you have any words of advice for someone who is going to have their first match?
My 9 year old son has problem closing out on matches, it's been nearly 3 times now that he had substantial lead with multiple match points, despite that he end up on the losing side. This week again it happend and after the match when he came back vented out his frustration and started crying.
Hi Patrick, could you give more concrete examples of goals, that I could set for my match?
That I was expecting about too
Awesome, thank you for your valuable advice!
The coach!
Amazing video!! When does the part 2 video about the mental part during the match is going to be uploaded? I am waiting for it with excitement!🎉
Thank you, Patrick. For this video, my question is, i have long strokes and prefer to be behind the baseline, but move sometimes if possible. I can't run for short or slow balls. My opponents use this as a great chance to win all matches. I am a social player and love to play tournaments sometimes. How can I better myself in this category, please
Enjoyed this, makes sense. Like studying for a test, you can prepare for what you think you are going to be tested on but you do not control the questions, or how the professor will interpret your answers. But you can control your what you study, how much you study, and what you are prepared to do on test day. Do you have any videos on how to choose between the many potential goals that are out there on any given day? For example, consistently keeping the ball deep until you get a ball to attack, vs moving the opponent around the whole court including short angles for those opponents who do not move well, or pulling opponents into the net intentionally who do not like to volley or hit overheads? The first is focused on maximizing your own offensive potential, the other is focused on exploiting your opponent’s weaknesses. Either might work if executed effectively. How to choose what to set as the goal?
Perfect and practical recommendations! Thanks and respect from Turkiye! Cuma günü sevap işledi adam, sağ olsun. A.r.o. Google translate kullanıp bir de a.r.o. nedir gardaş diye yanıt atarsa helal derim...
Thanks so much! Q: would you ever recommend modification of a goal set at, say, a change over between sets if the original goals are not as ideal as expected? For instace it becomes apparent your opponent is not great at the net and you had started with a goal of playing deep?
Brad Gilbert would say yes!
It's actually the same in life. Always take care of what depends on you, not things that you can't act on . Marco Aurelius filosofy.
I always love you videos, no matter witch’s level you play. I have a question, during the match mostly I forget every focus point because of the stress, do you have a golden tip?
Breathe … make your exhales longer that your inhales. This forces you to relax. Best of luck out there.
This is also how physically fit I want to be in my 50s
Hi Patrick, I'm having trouble controlling my nerve. especially when I have to serve at important points. first I would hit pretty solid serves with a high service winner percentage and almost no double faults. As soon as I become tense, I am unable to continue serving with the same consistency. resulting in a weaker serve and a lot of double faults. then I enter a downward spiral where more and more tension arises and my playing becomes worse. I end up getting frustrated. What is strange about this is that that I them seem to be playing a little better again. in this video you said you should focus on your own game and things you have control over. 5:08. in your example about driving a car at high speed. I would have full control with my service. In this case, this actually makes me more stressed. what is my problem here and the cause of this? wrong goals? Lack of confidense? and how can I deal with this better?
What are some good examples to pick as a goal?
He gives some. E.g. everytime I have a negative feeling I will tell myself this sentence "xxx "
Questions from an amateur player: 1) "Every time I have a negative feeling during the match, I will tell this sentence to myself" What type sentence would that be? I believe Mental negativity is bunch bigger so not sure if it can be fixed with one sentence? 2) "You have to set goal that if they are completed you consider you have a big chance to win the match" I believe the objective of these goals is to keep your mind away from obsessing with the score. Setting a goal like "I won't miss any balls on the net" not necessarily will help you win the match, but is it a valid goal?
"I won't miss any balls on the net" is a wish, and thus not a valid goal. Think about what actions or tactics increase the likelihood of succeeding at making that wish come true, and you have your goals.
Hi Patrick, good morning!! My name is Gustavo Rocha, I'm 15 years old, I've been playing tennis since I was 9 years old, I'm having a hard time facing my fear on the court, in training I'm very aggressive, however, in tournament games I freeze up, do you have any suggestions? It may be due to having played few tournaments as a child, and only having intensified playing in tournaments this year.
But do the greatest players have the desire to win over the desire to complete said goals? Do they not desire to win no matter what and only focus on winning? I know I am talking about the 0.00001% of players that being Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, Serena etc
How do I go into a match feeling relaxed and not let outside thoughts get inside my head when on the court.
I try to find a weak spot of my opponent and try to hit as many balls in that direction. It not always works because they then get better hitting those shots. It’s like I’m making them play better.
I am at 22:4 positive this year so far. Could be worse...
Typically losing at the end of games with mental leaving me and trying to make safe balls and giving opportunity to NY opponent to win. I like these three goals but can you suggest a goal for the end of matches to avoid this ?
I changing forehand grip when i am hitting ball
When will be the next video regarding mentally matter ?
In a begginer level, is " not making double faults" a usefull goal?
I always like to set myself positive goals. So instead of no double faults (which may be hard and make you nervous), something like get more serves in or hit more serves that are difficult for the opponent. Just my five cents 😊
No its only a wish. like he said in the video
A goal might be something like using topspin on your second serve (if you know how to do it), or using two second serves in situations where you are normally likely to double fault.
What to do with an opponent who every time arrive 30 minutes late, take a break in a middle of a set when she starts loosing to disrupt your rythm? What kind of mental goal I can set to myself with those kind of opponents?
Ill stay ready and keep fighting for every Ball no matter what
So much info that I forgot what s he said at the beginning of the video
My goal is to make less than 5 unforced errors per match.
Per match? I make them per game! 😂😂
I usually listen to Seek & Destroy by Metallica.
Second😂
Should the Goals be the same every match?
Because Patrick is not a tennis player it is hard for him to understand that what he is saying regarding goals is unrealistic
He should not appear anywhere, what his team did to Helep...
biggest scammer in tennis - parfait