3 UNSPOKEN SECRETS THE PROS WON'T TELL YOU ABOUT

      


If you've ever been lucky enough to attend a professional tennis tournament and watched the pros playing up close and personal you've probably marveled at how good they are. 

You can't help but be impressed with the effortless way they generate power and the degree they throw themselves into every rally is hugely impressive.

Like most people you probably left the tournament hugely impressed by what you just witnessed. 

I've been around players like those for many years and I can tell you that the pros are different from us, at least in the way they approach their tennis.

Here are some of the things I have observed about our top players.


1.    GET YOUR S#@$ TOGETHER 

The pros are completely dedicated to performing at their best for every match. That involves everything from the food they consume to how they schedule their days.

Eating the correct diet is an important 
ingredient of a players day

The days, weeks, and months, of a top tennis player's life are completely dedicated to scheduling their tournaments and their practice sessions. For the top players, tennis comes first, and other parts of their "life" are squeezed into the gaps of what's left of their day.

The mention of practice for most people means on-court time. For professional tennis players' "practice" not only includes on-court work but also visits to the physio, stretching, and work in the gym. 

The best players in the world have meticulous warm-up and warm-down routines they adhere to daily. Consider whether you personally could maintain this schedule every day.


2.     LEARN TO DEAL WITH LOSING

I was listening online to the great Indian tennis player Leander Paes several days ago. Now retired, he mentioned during his online talk that throughout his career he had lost 74.4% of his matches. 

The point Leander was trying to make was that even with all the success he enjoyed during his playing days, in tennis, you lose a lot. It's not like that in many other sports.

Just look at what happens at a normal tennis tournament. More than 64 players (124 players in a Grand Slam main draw) begin the event, but only one player can finish the tournament without being beaten. Every other player in the draw experiences failure.

What the pros do well is put the losses into a "melting pot" that helps them rationalize the "failures". 

Top tennis players are extremely resilient and can take the inevitable losses and use them to channel ways of improving, to gain more experience, and point them in a better direction. 


3.    BE FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND

I can't stress enough how important it is to make your game fundamentally sound. It needs to be technically sound so that you can withstand the many years of playing and practicing. Any faults in your technique will result in career-damaging injuries.

A coach can install good fundamentals 
to help with your development

Your game also needs to be biomechanically correct so that you can create easy power without needing to use too much effort to do so.  

Become strategically smart so that you can read and react to your opponent's game. If you have ever played against a top player you know that you leave the court feeling like you were always under pressure on every ball! This is because the top players quickly understand your game and adapt accordingly!

Time spent in the gym will ensure a body that can
withstand the rigors of professional tennis

The pros have the luxury of being around the best coaches who can help them with their techniques and their match strategy. If you aspire to reach the top, you will need to get this part of your development in order also.



 

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

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