Dominating Tennis

Mental tennis drills: routines, nerves and big points

4 drills105 minutes in all1 you can do alone
  1. 1

    The four-phase reset

    10 min · Alone or with a partner
    1. When the point ends, turn away, release with one exhale and walk to the towel or the back fence.
    2. Take two slow breaths. Decide your serve or return plan and say it once in target words.
    3. Run your ritual: the same bounce count, the same look at the target, then the toss. Keep the same order every point.
    4. Play ten points like this. A partner or a side camera counts the points where all four phases ran before the toss.
    Number to beat
    8 of 10 consecutive points with all four phases run before the toss
    Why it works · MindWhat to do between points in tennis
  2. 2

    Stakes versus no stakes

    15 min · With a partner
    1. Hit ten second serves into the deuce box with no score and no consequence. Count the ones that go in.
    2. Hit ten more, each played as 30-40 in a game your partner scores, with a consequence for a double fault. Count again.
    3. Next week, repeat with an external target said aloud before each toss. Compare the gap between the two counts.
    Number to beat
    No more than 1 serve lost from no-stakes to stakes, ten each
    Why it works · MindWhy you choke in tennis and how to fix it
  3. 3

    The slide answer

    20 min · With a partner
    1. Play a practice set with a score. Your partner marks every time you lose three points in a row.
    2. On the fourth point, before the toss or the return, run your full between-point reset and use the whole window.
    3. Tell your partner one change, such as body serve, higher over the net, or return cross. Play the point.
    4. Log whether you did the reset and named the change, not whether you won the point.
    Number to beat
    4 of 4 three-point slides answered with the full reset and one named change
    Why it works · MindIs momentum real in tennis, and how to stop losing streaks
  4. 4

    The big-point board

    60 min · With a partner
    1. Before a match, write one serve pattern and one return plan for big points. Two lines, no more.
    2. After every 30–30, 30–40, 40–30, deuce and set point, run your between-point reset before the next ball. Have your partner log the point and whether you played the plan.
    3. After the match, count the big points you played to plan. The score doesn't count here.
    Number to beat
    8 of 10 big points played to plan
    Why it works · MindHow to play big points in tennis