Mindset And Focus In Tennis

Photo credit: Tennishead

A positive mindset for professional players or not helps one perform.

Came across this Pre-Final read from WImbledon with Pliskova Coach, Sascha Bajin.

Sascha Bajin used to be Serena's hitting partner and was a former coach to Naomi Osaka You can find the full article here but I'll just share one of the interview responses below from him.

Q. I'm doing work on Novak Djokovic who everyone says is unbeatable over five sets. How would you advise a player to approach a match against him here at Wimbledon?

SASCHA BAJIN: Oh, man. That's like, How do you walk on water? That's a tough one.

I think especially against these guys, if you don't win the first two sets, it's all tough. Like, a good example was with Rafa in Rome. I'll just use him as an example. He was practicing. I'm not going to lie, I think the first 10 minutes he hit, like, 20 balls into the fence. But you could see it did not bother or stress him one tiny bit because he knew he was going to find his rhythm, his timing. Once he does, it's going to be over for the competition.

I agree with him on that last sentence I've underlined and bolded. During coaching time, it is necessary to stay focus on your hit and not let outcomes affect your mindset. It's like a domino effect, once you start playing badly and you get frustrated , chances are you're just going to mess things up more. In this response from the coach, staying on course knowing he has good techniques , its just a matter of finding the groove and keeping the state of mind and emotions in check.