This weekend I have been writing about self-awareness, which is one of the factors originally identified in “The 12 Habits of Highly Successful Tennis Players.” Developing self-awareness is possible with patience, practice, and a willingness to explore one’s thoughts and emotions. By becoming more self-aware, tennis players can better understand themselves, regulate their feelings, and improve on-court performance.
Several methods for developing and refining a sense of self-awareness have appeared as recurring themes in this blog. One of the best approaches is using a basic reflection on three questions between every point. This formula works well for me.
- What just happened? Why was the point lost or won? This is the basic determination of whether the point ended due to a winner, forced error, unforced error, or something else entirely.
- Why did it happen? Once the cause of the decisive termination of the point is made, the critical question seeks to find the reason why the point played out that way. Typically the answer originates with one or more preceding shots in the point.
- What do I need to do about it? This includes both short and long-term corrective action. For example, if my opponent is hitting a ton of winners, but it is happening because I am leaving the ball short in the center of the court, I should hit balls deeper. When a consistent pattern emerges across a lot of points, it is a potential indication that longer-term training might be the ultimate solution.
Video analysis of match play is a very good way to perform a self-assessment from a detached third-person perspective. If you have the luxury of a coach or a trusted personal friend, they can help develop or sanity check your own self-assessment.
My customized version of the USTA’s Player Development Journal is another valuable tool for refining your own sense of self-awareness. Taking a moment for reflection after each training session and match primes the brain for critical self-assessment.
A common characteristic shared by the best players in Adult Senior tennis is a heightened sense of self-awareness. They deeply understand their own game and leverage that knowledge during match play and training. Self-awareness is an attribute that can be improved through diligent practice and a willingness to perform continuous self-evaluation.
It is a tennis superpower.
Throughout 2023 I am exploring the 12 Habits of Highly Successful Tennis Players. A complete summary of all posts to date on that topic as well as what is coming up for the remainder of this year, can be found on the 12 Habits of Highly Successful Tennis Players homepage.
