How much of tennis is played in the mind?

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SportPulse.net (my article): http://www.sportpulse.net/content/how-much-tennis-played-mind-4754

In my eyes there are five main aspects of tennis:
1. Tactics
2. Shot selection
3. Execution
4. Mental Energy levels
5. Physical Energy levels

If a tennis player can perfect these 5 aspects of his game, he has the perfect formula to be a successful tennis player. If you have good tactics and shot selection, but your execution is poor, then you will not be successful. If you have good shot selection and execution, but you do not work hard on your fitness, then your physical energy levels will decrease rapidly as the match progresses, negatively affecting your execution. Conversely a marathon runner could try and play tennis, but as fit as he is, unless he has the shots and the game to perform well, it would be useless.
So, back to the main theme, how much of tennis is played in the mind?

Firstly I believe tactics and shot selection need the mind. Especially shot selection. Tactics can be pre-planned when you are with your coach/ advisors. Target your opponents weaknesses, prepare a plan B if your first plan doesn't work.
But with shot selection you don't have this luxury. On that exact moment you have to make a decision. Do I slice this with my backhand? Or should I run around and try and hit a forehand DTL. Any hesitation, and you're toast. Also do keep in mind, that this decision has to be made in a split second. In tennis the ball is travelling fast, unlike golf you cannot stand for minutes observing all the different angles before completing your shot. Your mind must be quick, alert, and decisive.

So both 'tactics' and 'shot selection' are played out in the mind of tennis players, rather than the court. But what about the other aspects? Let's investigate energy levels.
Now there are two types of 'energy levels.' One if physical, another is mental. I believe the more important of the two is mental. It is very easy to get confused between the two though, and often they go hand in hand. Mental energy is the intensity you need to keep throughout the match. Mental energy is the strength to tell yourself when you have lost the first 2 sets that you can still come back. The players with the best mental strength can go to hell and back but still have the energy to compete. Nadal Wimbledon 2008. He gives everything in the first 2 sets. Wins them. Roger, the great champion that he is, fires back; edging the next 2 sets on close tie-breaks. In 2007 Nadal lost the fifth set to Federer at the same venue. After that match, Nadal cried in the locker-room, knowing he had missed his chance. Federer had won the last 5 Wimbledon titles. But Nadal does it. He gathers mental strength and energy from nowhere, and motivates himself to power on. A similar story in the USO final this year. Murray, who had failed so many times before, looked doomed again in a slam final. But in the toilet break at the end of the 4th set he told himself 'Go for it.' And he did. Arguably it was this mental strength which won him the slam, rather than his 'backhand' or 'forehand' etc. Belief is crucial.
And then we have physical fitness. Critical of course, if you are heading to a 5th set, as if you are tired your execution will suffer. Physical fitness is now more important than ever, as tennis players strive to be complete athletes. Work hard in the gym, put in the effort, as physical fitness is essential. On the other hand it can also be argued that if someone is just physically fit, but can't play tennis, this is no use. So physical fitness by itself is not very useful.

And then we come to execution, which many believe is the most important aspect of the game. In many ways they are right. You could have superb tactics, fantastic shot selection, and have lots of energy, but if you don't execute your shot well you won't win the point. For this skill you need to be very talented (in your hands), and of course practice a lot. If you can combine both these things, than in the practice court you can have perfect execution. But when it comes to a match scenario, another aspect comes into play: Mental strength (belief). Mentally you have to believe. In the crucial moments, you cannot doubt yourself. This is what I believe separates the 'best' from the 'rest.' The belief in the crucial moments, which enables a player to have perfect execution. Having talent, but not the mental strength, leaves you in the position of Richard Gasquet.

As Roger Federer once said 'I always knew I had it in my hands, but the real question was: did I have it in my head?'

So, is a tennis match mainly played out on the court, or in between the ears?
Personally I would say 60% of tennis is played in the mind. To be a great champion, you not only have to have the talent on court, but also a 'great mind.'

Amritia3ee

Exactly; confidence has to be based on reality or it's just delusion. Delusion actually leads to worse performance because you don't address the real problems.

Useful confidence is the confidence to believe that by addressing reality you will find a way to win.

bogbrush wrote:Exactly; confidence has to be based on reality or it's just delusion. Delusion actually leads to worse performance because you don't address the real problems.

Useful confidence is the confidence to believe that by addressing reality you will find a way to win.

But in circumstances could delusion be good/

Eg if you are 2 sets down in a match, and the betting odds put the chances of you winning at around 5%.
If you believe in yourself that you still have a good chance of winning (despite this not being true), rather than accepting that the chance of you winning is very unlikely; then surely there's a greater chance of you making a comeback.

Nadal is an expert at using Mental Rituals. I've always believed that they can be an excellent strategy and can't understand why they are not used more often. It's funny that so many dismiss Nadal's tactics as some form of "OCD". If your serving at break point down in the fifth set of a slam final what is the best thing to do? The exact same thing that you do in the first round of a less important tournament... something you've done so often that it can make the most stressful situation seem almost routine.

Delusion is never good. Determination and confidence in a plan is good. Delusion saps the will to change things.

Fair point bb, fair point.