THE BLUE ELEPHANT: Helping Players Stay Focused When Distraction Strikes

The Blue Elephant: Helping Players Stay Focused When Distraction Strikes

By Paul Dale | The 3AM Tennis Method

In my years working with competitive junior players, one of the most common — and frustrating — challenges I face is helping talented tennis players translate their practice performance into real match results. These players can strike the ball cleanly, move well, and execute drills as well as anyone. But when tournament day comes, something unravels. Their game becomes shaky, inconsistent, and the confidence we thought we’d built seems to vanish.

One recent case brought this issue sharply into focus.

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Meet Kevin: A Case of Potential vs. Performance

Kevin was one of those players coaches love to have. Technically solid, smart on the court, and coachable. After working together for a few months, his confidence rose, and his results reflected it — finals in two consecutive tournaments. It felt like we were finally turning a corner.

Then came the setback.

In his next event, Kevin lost in the first round. Not just lost — crumbled. It was a regression that felt disconnected from the progress we'd seen.

When I spoke to his father, he described the day in detail. Kevin had started well. He was confident and hitting freely. But then it rained — a 90-minute delay. After that, Kevin played okay, but not at his earlier level. Then came another rain interruption. By the time the match resumed again, Kevin was lost — emotionally frayed, easily frustrated, and totally disconnected from the player we’d seen weeks earlier.

And that’s when I realised something important: Kevin wasn’t struggling with his tennis anymore. He was struggling with distraction.

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The Blue Elephant

That’s when I introduced Kevin to the idea of "The Blue Elephant."

It’s a term I use to represent any form of distraction that can derail a player's focus during a match. The actual content of the distraction doesn’t matter — it could be rain delays, a bad line call, a noisy court next door, or an opponent's odd rituals. It could be something external, like a barking dog, or internal, like a fear of losing. All distractions, no matter how different they seem on the surface, share the same power: to break the player’s emotional and mental stability.

The challenge for Kevin — and for any competitive player — is not to avoid the Blue Elephant. That’s impossible.

The challenge is to notice when the elephant walks by and still stay in control of your reaction.

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Coaching Takeaway: Teaching Players to Deal with the Blue Elephant

If you’re a coach working with players like Kevin, here’s how you can introduce and train this concept:

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Step 1: Define the Blue Elephant

Explain to your players that distractions are inevitable. Give them examples — from your own experience, their recent matches, or professional matches on TV. Let them see that even top players deal with Blue Elephants.

Then personalise it: ask them to list what distracts them during a match.

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Step 2: Shift the Goal

Too many players aim to have perfect conditions. That’s a losing strategy. Instead, reframe the goal: This subtle shift changes everything. It gives players control, not over the distraction, but over their response.

"Can you still perform your routines and execute your plan when the blue elephant walks by?" 

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Step 3: Simulate Distractions in Practice

Build mental resilience by training it:

• Create drills with unexpected starts and stops.

• Pause practices mid-tie-break, put in a fitness segment, then resume again.

• Add noise or random interruptions..

Have the player ask themselves: What did you feel? What changed? Did your intensity drop?

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Step 4: Build Awareness

Ask players to monitor themselves in real time. During practice or matches, use simple prompts:

• “How’s your focus now?”

• “What just distracted you?”

• “Are you reacting or responding?”

This self-check process strengthens their ability to notice distractions without being controlled by them.

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Step 5: Debrief After Matches

Don’t just focus on tactics and technique. Ask:

• “What Blue Elephants showed up today?”

• “How did you handle them?”

• “What can you do better next time?”

This reflection helps turn each match — win or lose — into a learning experience.

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Final Thought: It’s Not About Avoiding the Elephant

Kevin didn’t lose that match because of the rain.

He lost because he didn’t yet know how to handle the mental disruption the rain caused.

And the good news? That’s coachable.

So, to all the coaches reading this — if you’ve got a player who plays great in practice but falls apart in matches, don’t assume it’s their technique or general lack of ability. Start asking about their focus under pressure. Introduce them to the idea of the Blue Elephant. Make it part of their training vocabulary.

Because once a player learns how to stay steady when the elephant walks by the court, their game becomes unshakeable.

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Want more structured mental training like this for your players or coaching staff?
Explore our Mental Mastery The 3am Way course for coaches at The 3AM Tennis Method, where we equip coaches with proven frameworks — like the Blue Elephant — to help their players become mentally unbreakable.