Marcin Bieniek

Every year starts pretty much the same way. It is January – the beginning not only of 365 days but also the beginning of different approaches for many players. Players think about what happened in the previous year and what they can change this year to become a better athlete. Becoming better is crucial in tennis development so thinking about how to improve your own level should be a priority while entering a new year.

A lot of players set New Year’s resolutions. They are full of motivation and they finally want to make big step forward with their game. They set goals that should have a big positive impact on their performance which should lead to achieving better results over the course of the whole year. This approach deserves respect but unfortunately, not many players stay consistent with January’s resolutions. Most of the time after a few months or when few spectacular losses happen players come back to the old way of living and practicing and there is no visible improvement in their actions.

Why competitive players give up on their goals? Why they can’t stay motivated enough to continue the journey of becoming the best athlete they can be? Of course, every player is different but looking at athletes at all levels it is clear that there is a common factor that is responsible for stopping the process of achieving set goals. It is not about energy. It is not about motivation either. The answer is also not related to lack of time. The reason for not continuing this important process is … lack of reason.

Behind every action stands the reason. If the reason for achieving given thing is clear and important for players there is a small chance that they will give up on own resolutions. Only lack of consciousness of reason or improper reason can lead to lack of activity after some time. If you know why you do something and it is important to you even lack of energy or really bad day won’t stop you from adding one little step to your final success in given direction.

As we know there are six different categories that are important in tennis development. These are: technical, tactical, physical, mental, nutritional and related to recovery. Many athletes try to improve different skills within these categories but they are not aware of the real reason behind these actions. Here is how to understand what really lies behind these changes:

Technical changes

Technique has a big impact on quality of your shots. The better technique you have the more dangerous your shots can be. Don’t forget also about your health – improper technique leads to many minor and major injuries that will harm your body and performance.

Tactical changes

It is really worthy to develop tactical side. Decisions you make during the match are responsible for the final outcome of the points so the more you know about tactics in tennis the better decisions you can make under the pressure.

Physical side

Every physical activity requires solid body preparation. Tennis is a complex sport where a variety of physical components is needed to successfully play the game. If you take care of your body you will definitely improve your results and be able to continue your career with fewer injuries that stop other players who don’t spend enough time on fitness workouts.

Mental side

Everyone is talking about the importance of mental aspects in tennis but almost nobody continuously works on these aspects. Most tennis players hit thousands of tennis balls and lifts weights but they don’t incorporate visualization or emotional control techniques into a weekly schedule. If you really want to play tennis effectively you have to work on your mental side every week – your head gives instructions to your body so make sure these instructions are of good quality.

Nutrition

We all would love to look like these Hollywood starts but outlook shouldn’t be the main reason why you want to eat healthily. Remember that too much weight carried on requires more work to do during every session so you can’t be as effective as you would be without additional kilograms. You have to also keep in mind that wrong eating habits increase the probability of getting injured because your body doesn’t receive proper macro and micronutrients.

Recovery

Sleeping or laying down on the sofa can help you with tiredness but the goal of recovery is much bigger. As an athlete, your body and mind are under constant pressure and if you don’t recover enough you put your career in big danger. Change your approach to recovery and think about it as a way to have the next practice with excellent quality, to feel well physically and mentally and to reduce the possibility of getting injured. With this approach, you will never skip any more foam rolling activity or sauna sessions during the free day.

Reason stays behind big successes. If you want to achieve big success this year you need a reason. The reason that will not only push you hard but will allow you to stay on track during all the days of a year. Make sure you approach 6 different categories with proper reason and you will see a big difference both in your game and in your results.

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