You know this moment: You are leading 5:3 and serving for the set. On the way to the line your thoughts are already at the changeover. Two games later it is 5:5, and you don’t know exactly how that happened.
In tennis, concentration does not mean having everything in view all the time. It is about setting your focus wide or narrow at the right moment. And about coming back quickly when your thoughts wander. That is exactly what the focus switch from the Mental Journal is for.
Concentration means coming back
A Harvard University study of 2250 adults arrived at a surprising number. For 46.9 per cent of their waking time, the participants’ minds were on something other than what they were doing. So drifting off is not a sign of weakness. It is the normal state.
Nobody stays with the ball without a break for a whole set. The difference lies in how quickly you find your way back. And finding your way back can be trained like a serve.
Your focus is a spotlight
The picture comes from the sports psychologist Robert Nideffer, who described it in 1976. The light of your spotlight falls sometimes wide, sometimes narrow. And it points either outwards at the court or inwards at your thoughts. This gives four settings:
- Wide and outward: You read the court. Where is your opponent standing, where is the wind coming from, where is there open space?
- Wide and inward: You plan. What has worked in the last few games, and what will you play next?
- Narrow and inward: You gather yourself with a feeling or a single word.
- Narrow and outward: You are with the ball, its flight path and the contact point.
There is no right or wrong setting here. In a match you need all four. It gets difficult when you are stuck in the wrong one. If you are still turning over tactics during the ball toss, your spotlight is open too wide. If you think only about the mishit ball between points, you miss what is happening on the other side.
The focus switch: think wide, play narrow
The tool of the third week in the Mental Journal matches the four settings to the sequence of a point. You switch from wide to narrow in three stages:
- Between points: Look wide. Notice how your opponent is standing and playing, and set your plan.
- At the line: Say your focus word to yourself. That ends the planning.
- From the ball toss: Only the ball now, from its flight path to the contact point.
The phrase to remember fits on one line: Think wide, play narrow. After the point you open the spotlight again, and everything starts over.
In my tournament matches too, my mind likes to wander to the result in tight phases. A simple question helps me then: am I wide or narrow right now?
Your focus word: short and pointing outwards
For the last second before the point, one word is enough. What matters is where it directs your eyes. The movement scientist Gabriele Wulf found a clear pattern on this in many studies. If you direct your attention to the result of a movement, such as the flight curve of the ball, you usually play and learn better. If you think about your own body instead, you do worse on average.
Good focus words therefore point outwards: “deep”, “middle”, “early” or simply “ball”. Words such as “elbow” or “wrist”, by contrast, direct your eyes to yourself. The post Go into practice with one focus explains how to set a suitable point before practice even begins.
Bounce-hit: an exercise against too many thoughts
If you think about every shot, your arm tightens. A task that seems almost too simple helps against this. It goes back to Timothy Gallwey, who described it in “The Inner Game of Tennis”:
- As soon as the ball lands on the ground during the warm-up, you quietly say “Bounce”.
- As soon as someone hits it, you or your opponent, you say “Hit”.
- Stay with it for at least ten minutes, even if it feels strange at first.
- Count how many rallies in a row you manage without missing a word. That is your record.
The task keeps the conscious part of your mind busy. Your body plays the shots it has long been able to play, without interference. Easier: Say only “Hit”. Harder: Stay with it when playing points too. Try to break your record in the practices that follow. That makes your progress measurable.
Focus in everyday life: one thing at a time
Studying with your phone next to your exercise book, or reading emails while someone is talking: off the court too, the mind jumps back and forth. The researcher Sophie Leroy described in 2009 that when you switch between two tasks, part of your attention stays stuck on the first. She called this attention residue. So finish one thing or deliberately park it before you start the next. Your phone can stay out of sight during this time.
Frequently asked questions about concentration in tennis
How can I improve my concentration in tennis?
Do not train to be concentrated without a break, train to come back quickly. A fixed routine for the break between two points, a focus word and exercises such as bounce-hit help with this. The post Mental routines for big points shows what such a routine looks like.
What should I think about during a rally?
As little as possible. From the ball toss, your attention belongs to the ball. Planning happens between points, playing happens in the point.
Why do I lose concentration when I am ahead?
Often your thoughts wander to the result, in other words into the future. A deliberate step back into your routine helps then: look wide, plan for the next point, focus word, ball.
How to practise the focus switch with the Mental Journal
“Focus” is the third week in the Mental Journal by Tennis Schweiz. The book leads you to greater mental strength in 13 weeks and three phases, and the focus week belongs to the first phase, the Foundation. Over seven days you find out where your thoughts wander and which distractions cost you the most points. You practise switching between wide and narrow, try bounce-hit in practice and look for your own focus word. One day carries the focus over into school, work and everyday life. At the end of the week you look back at your notes and test your knowledge in a short check.
The other mental tips are collected under All Kopfsache posts.
