Tennis book on mental game help

[mike84]

Can anyone recommend book to improve mental toughness.

I keep struggling in matches. Only have 3 tournament matches so far but I feel like its same pattern every time when I step on the court; nerves, extremely negative and miss shots that I can make all day in practice sets.



So far I ordered this book
The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance
http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Te...ie=UTF8&qid=1407605890&sr=1-3&keywords=tennis

 

[Ash_Smith]

Whilst generic advice from a book or on here can help, it will still only be generic advice, unless you consult with a psychologist or coach who understands a level of psychology.

 

[Gee]

I can recommend you the following books on mental training:

• Mindset by Jackie Reardon and Hans Dekkers
• Smart Tennis by John F. Murray

 

[Cobaine]

Allen Fox is known for such books. TW sells two of them.

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Allen_Fox-Think_to_Win_Book/descpageFOX-THINK2WIN.html

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Allen_Fox-Winning_the_Mental_Match/descpageFOX-WINMENTAL.html

 

[fuzz nation]

Mental Tennis by Vic Braden.

He's a long-time tennis guru and also a licensed psychologist. Among the different books I've read, this one has given me the most help as both a player and teacher/coach, at least in terms of "mental management". I've read it three or four times, loaned a couple of copies out to friends and students, and a couple of them have really benefitted from it, too.

His writing style offers lots of information, but Braden also has a decent sense of humor and a knack for spinning a good story. That makes his stuff a whole lot easier to consume.

 

[ttbrowne]

I've never read a really good book on the mental side of tennis. I fear that all of the really good stuff is in the minds of expensive pros.

 

[Bendex]

Write your own essay on the subject. It will force you to contemplate the issues more deeply. Nobody understand you better than you.

I've tried to help many people with mental issues... after a big long talk, with them fully agreeing what they need to do, I say "Ok, lets play a set." Within the first few errors they're falling apart again. I think it takes a monumental effort on the part of the individual to change things between the ears.

It might be related to this "Warrior Gene" I heard them talking about on Dr. Phil. It's where some people just can't control their negative emotions.

 

[jrs]

http://www.dhamma.org

 

[Tyrus]

I'm gonna throw something out of left field at you.

Try yoga.

It teaches mindfulness, understanding your body, acknowledging your thoughts without acting on them. Think of the arm balances, success with those comes from belief, focus and patience. All keys to mental toughness.

I only share this because I've done yoga for about a year and a half and have found it to be a great solution to mental toughness. It's really about acknowledging your thoughts, wether good or bad, positive or negative, and learning to let go of the ones that aren't doing you any good. This is what Savasana has taught me.

Apply that to tennis. You hit an unforced error. Heat of the moment has you yelling at yourself, bad thoughts. The first thing is to understand it's happening, acknowledge it and its easier to let them go. What comes after are clearer better thoughts.

Like I said, its out of left field, but worked for me.

 

[CoachingMastery]

There is a new book, "Conversation with a Zen Tennis Master" by Desmond Oon. Lots a great 'Eastern wisdom' as it applies to tennis.

Also, I recommend David Ranney's two books: "Play Zen-sational Tennis" and "Tennis: Play the Mental Game" both along the lines of "INNER GAME OF TENNIS but more of an updated take.

"Welcome to the Zone" by Scott Ford is another exceptional book on mental tennis. (And not because I wrote the foreword! It really is a good book!)

 

[kat8]

I just read this book yesterday, and LOVED it. There was an immediate difference when I played with a friend later that evening, and I won two sets. She even commented on how I improved a lot... which surprised me because I hadn't practiced any tennis since our group lesson the previous week. It was interesting how everything seemed to slow down when I was focusing on the ball seams while serving. For the first time, I was able to evaluate my shots without the typical negative self-talk, and to just observe. This book has some great insights!

Can anyone recommend book to improve mental toughness.

I keep struggling in matches. Only have 3 tournament matches so far but I feel like its same pattern every time when I step on the court; nerves, extremely negative and miss shots that I can make all day in practice sets.



So far I ordered this book
The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance
http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Te...ie=UTF8&qid=1407605890&sr=1-3&keywords=tennis