The Key to Self-Confidence

Whenever we observe world-class athletes, they appear to carry themselves with an air of arrogance and superiority. They believe they are always the best player when they step out on court, ready to take down whoever they need. Many people perceive this as having a big ego or being arrogant. Still, it can also be interpreted as being confident and trusting their abilities as professional tennis players.

Self-confidence is built from all the hard work you dedicate to your tennis and in turn, the results you achieve from your efforts. Confidence is the epitome of what every athlete works toward obtaining; it is defined as the belief and conviction you can meet challenges and surpass them because you trust your abilities to their full extent.

So, how do we become more confident?

Self-confidence is the assurance in yourself that you can overcome challenges. If you know you put your all into whatever can be done to further your tennis game, you will believe you can achieve great feats. Self-confidence is reinforced by two things, hard work and past experiences. To me, the key to having unwavering self-confidence is doing everything in your power to become the best tennis player you can be. If you’re doing all the right things, you can confidently tell yourself that you have prepared in every way, shape, and form. You have the assurance that you’ve done everything in your power to put yourself in the best possible position for success.

My philosophy is that if you put in the hard work, you can be fully confident in your abilities.

if you want to become a confident tennis player, you need to do all the things necessary to improve while staying dedicated and always giving 110% effort.

Below are the necessary things an athlete must do or have to maximize their confidence and achieve results:

·       Working on qualities of the Ideal Athlete (Passion, hard work, dedication, etc...) 

·       Having good warmup/stretching routines 

·       Good injury prevention and recovery 

·       Conquering fear and being mentally tough 

·       Staying disciplined and being responsible 

·       Working on patterns of play 

·       Practicing mindfulness and staying in the present moment 

·       Rituals, good on-court body language, and an optimistic attitude 

·        Embracing adversity and pain 

My book, A Comprehensive Guide: How to Become a Successful Tennis Player discusses these qualities in more detail. Please refer to the Resources tab of the website

Knowing everything you’ve done to become the player you are today is reason enough to start believing in yourself and your tennis. Staying committed is so rewarding, and eventually, success will always follow.

"One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation"

-Arthur Ashe