Of the many things you may have to overcome when you play tennis is the mental game. It’s tough to deal with losses, biases, and even missed opportunities point after point. Many sports psychologists suggest developing a winning mindset to help make it happen, but what does that really mean, and how you can find your own winning mindset?

Toward a Definition

A winning mindset is an often quoted idea, but few people really sit down and define it, which is key to making it happen when you’re on the court. Winning mindset simply means that you have enough belief in your own abilities to know that you can achieve the the win – which is what you’ve set out to do in the first place. While it doesn’t happen easily, it is possible to change your mindset to ensure you can get to a more positive place over time. 

Building a Winning Mindset

There are a few keys to developing a winning mindset. Start by looking at what has happened in your past tennis matches. If you’ve struggled in the past and you’ve managed to overcome those struggles, you already have personal evidence that it is possible to deal with adverse circumstances and come out on the winning end. 

The next step, then, is to keep that in mind as you walk onto the court before every match. Know that you have the ability to handle adversity in your life, and it has always been a temporary situation in the past. Remember that adversity has never ruled your performance in the past, and it doesn’t have to rule your performance now. 

Finally, watch for the little stuff. There will be times on the court when you know your game is recovering. Take things point by point, and watch for those moments where you understand that the game is going in your favor and you will overcome any problems you may have previously faced. 

A winning mindset doesn’t have to be a complex idea. Instead, it’s a fairly simple notion that could really change how you deal with small failures on the court.