A Winning Mindset for Beginner Tennis Players

Getting new players started & comfortable learning how to play tennis is the challenge for teaching pros. But it’s YOUR challenge in starting anything new. To get your mind right. People call it a winning mindset - for me it’s semantics. You´ve seen & heard tennis is a great game to get healthy & fit. Then quickly you find this game isn’t as easy as it looks on TV. Getting the ball over & inside those court lines consistently is tricky & can be, frustrating. Like developing your 2 core tennis grips, developing a winning mindset is your strongest starting point for beginner tennis players. Yet both are things adult tennis players don’t pay particular attention to and suffer down the line. How much of tennis is mental?

More than 80% of tennis is mental even though most believe it´s a technical and physical game. Having a winning mindset for beginner tennis players generates the right momentum with small wins as you learn to play. Staying relaxed and open minded will help your progress at the beginning stages of the game.

I´ve seen your faces and read your body language on court for years!! Keep a positive and realistic perspective at the beginning and the skies the limit.

Pro Tip: 💡

Adult tennis camps by playing level & travel destination for Summer 2023 check here.

I see beginner tennis players coming to the court anxious & tight all the time - totally normal. Your nerves take over around what to expect. Will you be able to do the drills & hit the ball like everyone else? Do you have the right equipment? Am I too old to play this game? Will I get injured?

All par for any beginner tennis player entering the world of tennis. Those insecurities go through everyone’s mind. Whether you realize it or not.

You´re all in business on some level. Be that business owners, parents running a family or working for someone else you all significant life responsibilities so you likely encounter these 5 tips in your work life also. All 5 mental pointers can be easily applied to your tennis development. And your tennis development will take a mental turn before anything technical or physical ever gets started.

How to Play Tennis

A winning mindset starts with where you´re at. I mean can you really start from any other place?

Some of you will come out with prior tennis experience as kids that you left behind.

Some of you are naturally athletic. Some not so much.

All of you have different learning styles and need to adjust for that. And your coach needs to adjust for that too.

Some come from other racket sports and think you´re ahead of the curve which usually isn’t the case. In fact it’s usually the opposite.

Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can” … Arthur Ashe

Perfectionists take heed. There´s no perfectionism in tennis. There´s great days, amazing shots, high adrenaline points, but perfectionism? That rarely happens. Working to achieve something is hard. And you all come to the sport with your different “why” for wanting to play this game.

Enjoy others around the game but focus on you and where you´re at. Because tennis is an independent game. You´ll learn, play and take decisions on court alone. Start where you´re at. Get comfortable being uncomfortable for a bit and you´ll take it in stride and have more fun in the learning process.

Beginner Tennis Mindset: Frustration will pass

Yep, you´re going to shank a lot of balls at first. And miss some entirely.

That’s part of the fun! And don´t worry, when you do find the sweet spot on shots … it’s indescribable and 100% memorable!! You´ll automatically search for that feeling again. That´s the moment the love affair begins.

It’s also fleeting in the beginning when you’re learning how to play tennis. Hang in there, it’s all coming together, swear!

It’s the psychology behind being “in the zone”. In the beginning those moments are few & far between. So building your grit with also letting yourself off the hook for bad shots as a beginner, are essential.

Learning to Play Tennis: Generate momentum

Ahhh the beauty of building momentum. That moment you realize, wow I really can play this game!

That momentum got its start mentally. Your momentum gets tested for a couple of months as you figure out the jargon, court lines and how to coordinate your body with a moving ball. But that grit you developed? That grit carries you towards building momentum in your practice sessions.

Gaining momentum on the other side of quitting or giving up entirely on those rough days.

Those small steps become small victories when you realize you know something about this game now. That momentum leads to confidence, feeling happy and you´ll become eager for more.

Small steps like; learning the court lines and where to be and not be. Learning how to keep score. Knowing the difference between a groundstrokes, volleys, and the different grips used on your forehand and backhand and coordinating the serve!?

Guys these small steps should make you feel wildly accomplished. Because they´re the building blocks to get you rallying a ball back and forth with someone else. Which means now you´re actually playing the game. If you learn your 2 key tennis grips from the start you´re absolutely off to a great start. With a winning attitude you can then work through the technique involved of each core stroke and enormous amounts of repetition.

From there, the sky's the limit!

Beginner Tennis: Goodness on the go

So if you´ve come to the game for new healthy friendships, to manage stress, weight loss, get toned legs, play with your tennis friends, join an adult tennis league or to improve your health? You´re on your way to success. And it only takes a few months to see & feel that light at the end of the tunnel.

And here’s the funny thing. Once you pass the beginner tennis landmark and you´re rallying a tennis ball with moderate success and can get your serve in the box somewhat consistently… you´ll be ready for the next stage of adult tennis.

That means deciding to play games with others out on your own, without a coach. Most adults like to play some friendly competitive games. It doesn’t need to be super intense, but it does add some excitement and fun to the game.

Soon you´ll decide to play singles or doubles. You´ll either prefer to be a lone wolf out there and double down on the exercise or have a partner to share the court with. Both have their benefits and both are a good time!

All the while you´ll keep developing your game towards the intermediate level. That doesn’t mean you won’t have bad days in practice sessions. The lifestyle this game offers you wants something in return. It wants you to stick around. And as long as you keep that winning mindset you’ll likely play the game into old age. Your new friends along the way will ensure that level of fun is the driving factor around the games very diverse and international lifestyle.

But it also brings me to my last point in your winning mindset.

How to Play Tennis Mindset: Keep showing up for practice

Yep, keep showing up. Keep letting this game kick you around a bit. You’ll soon have great days with solid momentum where you´ll kick back!

But don´t give up.

Eventually you´ll be cracking tennis balls, playing games, sharing experiences, traveling with friends for the game and really appreciating the effort you put into this whole damn thing.

What happens at the intermediate / intermediate advanced levels is that players need to push that winning mindset one step further.

They love they way they´re playing in practice. But not so much they way they´re playing in matches. It’s the biggest frustration for adult players when they advance to playing games (or matches).

Tennis Tips: How to play matches like you play in practice?

It’s the #1 question I get during match time on tennis holidays with Indie Tenis in Mallorca, Spain. So I decided to ask my coach, Jofre Porta.

Here´s Jofre Porta (Coach to Rafa Nadal & Carlos Moya) who breaks it down in a way that should surprise you.

Remember, Jofre’s taken 2 professional tennis players to world # 1 with Carlos Moya and Rafa Nadal. A man familiar with good results yet rarely talks about them. I wish there was a real secret to winning more matches but it comes with playing as many matches as you can. Building that courage muscle each match you play and gaining experience.

Everyone wants a win. But simply having the courage and determination to compete at all - is already a win!

With love from Mallorca~