Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

  The Sacred Contract: Why Following Instructions Defines Elite Tennis Success By Paul Dale | The 3AM Method The Clear Division of Match Responsibilities In competitive tennis, the relationship between coach and player operates on a fundamental principle that many overlook: execution belongs to the player, while strategy and accountability rest with the coach . This division isn't just philosophical—it's the cornerstone of championship-level tennis. Immediately after a loss, the coach should shoulder the responsibility as long as the player transferred their learnings from practice and delivered the match strategy laid out by the coach During matches, players have one primary job: execute the techniques drilled in training and implement the specific match strategies their coach has prepared. The coach, meanwhile, bears responsibility for the outcome when these instructions are followed. After a loss, the most powerful words a coach can speak are: "We were beaten, and it...

Stop Chasing Confidence. It's Not Important By Paul Dale | The 3AM Method Bad week of practice. Lost your last two matches. Feeling shaky when under pressure in matches? Everyone's advice? "Start working on your confidence!" Yeah. But will that work? The Confidence Trap Here's the problem with chasing confidence: You've often been through periods when your confidence is high and you go into matches feeling as good as you've ever felt—but eventually the same problems in your game surface, and the downward mental spiral begins again. It's circular. "I'll perform well when I feel confident" → "I'll feel confident when I perform well." You're stuck. And those pre-match confidence checks? "Do I feel confident? Am I ready?" That's like checking if you're relaxed every five minutes. The checking itself creates the problem. What If Confidence Is The Wrong Target? Here's a different way to think abou...

MAKING YOURSELF IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAT By Paul Dale | The 3AM Method The three words that matter Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. Everything else is noise. But most players prepare for matches the wrong way. They practice their weapons. Their power. Their serve. They prepare to dominate. Then the match starts, and they can't survive long enough to use any of it. The ancient general who understood tennis Sun Tzu never played tennis. He lived 2,500 years ago in China, advising rulers on how to win wars, where losing meant entire kingdoms would cease to exist. The book, based on his war strategies, " The Art of War ," is still a bestseller today. Not only has the plan for winning a war remained unchanged, but winning competitive sports has also remained the same. He wrote something that every tennis player needs carved into their racquet: "You cannot lose if your defence is strong. You can win if your attack is strong." Read that again. Both matter. Equally. H...

Why 50% of Tennis Players Lose Matches They Should Win (And the 100-Year-Old Strategy That Fixes It) By Paul Dale | The 3AM Method William Tilden, the greatest player of his era, coined a phrase 100 years ago: "Never change a winning game, always change a losing one." Tilden is saying that if things are going your way in a match, your job is to keep doing those things that are working. However, if you’re losing, you need to look for something to change. Players today don't need improved technical skills or better fitness as much as they need to learn a greater level of strategic awareness. Because if you don’t understand the game from a strategic perspective, there’s a chance that you are losing matches that were yours for the taking! The Match Management Problem (You've Seen This) Picture this: A player is dominating the first set with aggressive baseline play. Perfect execution, the opponent is struggling, and confidence is building. Then the second set ...

Visual Blocking – Dictating Your Opponent's Next Shot By Paul Dale | The 3AM Method

I'm in a Match-Now What? The 5 Elements of Match-Play You’ve trained for days, maybe weeks. You’ve worked on technique, movement, fitness, and strategy. Now, you’re standing alone on the court on match day, and it hits you — this is it . All the advice, all the drills, all the repetitions have led to this moment. But here’s the truth: without a clear plan, all that work can slip through your fingers. A player who walks into a match with a plan — even a simple one — will beat 85% of the opponents they face. So, what should your plan be? Forget complicated tactical charts and overthinking every situation. Your job on match day is to make sure five critical elements are in place from the first ball to the last. This is where your focus goes immediately. Without these five working for you, winning becomes more difficult, and at higher levels, almost impossible. The Five Elements of Match Play 1️⃣ High Percentage of First Serves Start every point with the advantage. Missing too...

The Plumber — The Mentality Every Competitive Player Needs By Paul Dale | 3AM Online Tennis Consulting “The Plumber”: A Lesson from Rod Laver’s Ruthless Mentality In the golden age of tennis during the 1960s, Rod Laver was described by his peers as “The Plumber.” He wasn’t flashy. He wasn’t glamorous. But his game was ruthlessly effective. Why? Because when Rod stepped onto the court, he didn’t show off. He didn’t care about applause or aesthetics. He showed up, got the job done , and left as quickly as possible — just like a plumber working beneath the house in the cold, damp, dirty crawlspace. A place nobody wants to be any longer than necessary. He worked where no one could see him — fixing what needed fixing — then vanished. And this is a mindset more tennis players need. The Problem: Hanging Around Too Long In today’s game, too many players linger. They’ve built a lead, have momentum, and can practically see the finish line — yet they hesitate. Why? Because it’s fun. ...