* I am sharing this article I was asked to write for the ATP ‘Global Professional Tennis Coaches Association, the world's best tennis coaches on the ATP and WTA circuits, for their players.   Article © 2000 - 2035 Craig Townsend / Its Mind over Matter.  All Rights Reserved.

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Zoning - Accessing the Zen State on Court

 

The Zone is the ultimate level of peak performance for a player – the highest level they can possibly achieve on that particular day. It is the peak, the zenith, the ultimate, for any tennis player – and the most-desired mental state in the world, for tennis players and competitors of any kind.

When your player suddenly clicks into the Zone during a match, they feel like they are capable of pretty much anything out there.   They can effortlessly make almost any shot on court – creating awesome power, placement, consistency, spin, angle, reflexes, intuitive movement – it’s all there at their disposal.

 

It literally feels like they possess some kind of built-in superpower, because almost everything they try comes off brilliantly. Of course, it’s not superpowers - it’s all coming directly from their subconscious – the control center of the body’s movement.

The Power of Now

It is very important to know that when your player is in the Zone, their focus is totally in the moment. Their thoughts are totally immersed with that micro-second in time and space, and nothing else exists.

What they are definitely NOT thinking about - is the past, or the future. These thoughts cause massive self-sabotage and major implosion during matches, and must be avoided at all times. Because as far as the subconscious is concerned, the only time that exists - is NOW.

 

The more a player can learn to focus on ‘being in the NOW’ during training and matches, and keeping their mind away from the evil Past and Future, the more often they will be able to click into The Zone.

A classic example of the Zone is when a player is severely rushed for time by a shot – such as a massively powerful forehand from their opponent, or maybe receiving a 200 km/hr serve.

They literally have no time to (consciously) think, and yet somehow, they manage to reflex back an amazing shot for a winner. These reason they were able to do this is because they reacted instinctively, without thought.

There was no other way, as they had no time to think. This is the power of the subconscious at work, and it works very, very well. Thoughts on the tennis court are fine - between points, or at change of ends – but never during the point.

The Power of Silence

You might remember from my previous articles that we all have a powerful subconscious mind, and also a weaker conscious mind.

The conscious mind is the busy, chattering mind – the incessant, endless stream of thoughts, judgement and disapproval going on in a player’s mind during matches.

Your conscious mind has very little access to the immense resources within the subconscious, and is most often responsible for players’ worst performances – the brain snaps, self-sabotage, temper tantrums, extreme nervousness, experiencing intimidation, insomnia before matches, etc etc.

When a player is 'zoning', their conscious mind is unusually quiet – the negative inner dialogue is silent, and this opens the door for the powerful subconscious to run their performance, on autopilot. It sounds like a contradiction, but it’s true - a player’s best tennis occurs when they are thinking absolutely nothing at all.

When the mind goes silent, the subconscious takes over, with its machine-like efficiency.

It runs performance instinctively, efficiently and precisely - the same way a computer runs software. The result on court is effortless quick reflexes, massive power, lightning movement and instinctive play – levels of tennis that simply cannot be matched by conscious thought.

Why Does the Zone Disappear?

Of course, the Zone is often called a ‘zen’ state because it is so notoriously elusive, which is why it has always had a somewhat mythical reputation. It can occur very suddenly on court, and may disappear just as quickly. Or, on occasions, it can last for weeks - creating winning streaks of match wins and tournament victories.

So what clicks a player OUT of the Zone? This occurs when the player’s deep focus may abruptly stop - due to possibly a line call, someone in the crowd, thinking about a past point, or even… thinking ahead to the future victory.

You often see this last scenario in matches - when someone is playing a much higher-ranked player – they may have been playing in The Zone for most of the match, attacking powerfully and outplaying their seeded opponent – taking the first set, and breaking early in the second.

Finally, they serve for the match, and they are about to cause a massive upset in the tournament. What could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot.

 

This is where the player’s conscious mind suddenly butts in, and takes control – with thoughts like “let me take care of this, because we need to be careful we don’t screw this up”, or “it’s going to be fun telling my family I won this match!”. And suddenly, the game changes.

The player is now ‘thinking’ about their shots, instead of hitting freely and naturally like before. They suddenly become tentative, the big attacking shots disappear, and they are now playing it safe.

Yes, you know the rest of the story. The seeded player breaks back, quickly takes control of the match, and walks off 20 minutes later, the winner. The other player walks off, crushed - knowing they are going to be haunted by the thought of that match for months.

 

That one pivotal game also happens to illustrate the very reason why players aren’t in the Zone most of the time. Despite having only a fraction of the power of the subconscious, the conscious mind prefers to take control of performance – because it is distrustful of the subconscious mind’s ‘automation’.

Once it takes control, it overrides the subconscious mind’s control of the body’s stokes, movement and performance. And instantly, the player’s level.. drops. An example of this is when players miss a shot they had plenty of time to hit.

This often happens because the player has too much time available to think before the shot, and so the conscious mind gets involved in the process – and, you know the rest.

The Ultimate Secret Weapon on Court – the Subconscious

When the mind is clear of thought, this allows pure reaction to take place.

These are instinctive responses that are powered directly by the subconscious – the inner computer with total access to all information about your player.

It knows exactly what shot selection is required for the best possible outcome, in any situation on court – and it knows exactly how to hit those shots, as well. It also knows, when allowed, how to create a flawless performance.

This is because it has a first-hand, intimate knowledge of all your player’s strengths, weaknesses, talents and capabilities - with unlimited access to all the major resources your player possesses.

 

To name just one…it stores and accesses a massive database of your player’s entire lifetime of practice sessions, matches, training and muscle memory, accumulated over the years in their subconscious memory bank.

This is data that can be automatically accessed in a split second by the subconscious, for the body to respond with the perfect shot required for the match situation. So a clear mind makes this all possible for the player - by accessing their Zone.

If it was humanly possible to purchase a 100% guaranteed method of entering The Zone for every single match, players would pay millions for it - it would become one of the most valuable commodities in the world.

However, a guaranteed method doesn’t exist, yet – but there are various methods which players can use to increase the possibility of zoning in a match.

 

Connecting to the Power

Apart from keeping their mind in the present moment, rather than focused on the past or the future (and this is a biggie), there are other methods that can allow your players to connect to their inner power, and click into the Zone during their matches.

 

One method is to simply practice ‘zoning’ - by devoting a portion of practice time where they are hitting with a totally clear mind, thinking absolutely nothing while they are hitting. This allows the player to re-connect with their instincts, and allow their reactions to respond to each ball directly from their own inner intelligence.

While this won’t be suitable during instruction times, where the player may be developing a new skill or shot – it will cement in those skills and shots afterwards, and deeply ingraining them to muscle memory.

Another important aspect which I touched on in a previous article is a player’s emotional state, which can trigger or repel the Zone state as well. If a player feels content in their personal life, they will have an abundance of natural feel-good chemicals in their bloodstream, such as endorphins and dopamine.

 

These can create a type of natural emotional high – very similar to the euphoric state players often experience when they enter the Zone, and making it far easier to bridge that gap. Any type of positive mood lift has positive effects – which is why quick mood-changers such as music, reading a book, a chat with friends or family, etc - can all have positive effects upon the mindset, and bring out heightened levels of performance.

Needless to say, positive mental states are far more likely to trigger this natural Zen state on court, than negative states such as frustration, anger etc.

Breaking Negative Thought Patterns During Matches (and Creating Positive ones)

However, there is one exception to this rule: Distractions can sometimes trigger the Zone, for some players. Yes, I know distractions are generally bad for concentration, and best avoided – very true.

But here is one common match scenario, where the opposite can apply: A particular player often become increasingly intense during matches, mentally tightening up as the match goes on, and their level drops. This is because the player is being bombarded with their own negative self-talk, or inner dialogue.

Their inner critic has gone into overdrive, criticizing them for every missed shot, blaming them for lost opportunities - and the player begins making even more errors, and becoming tense, frustrated and tired. Their opponent is beginning to dominate, and the match is slipping away.

 

But…. suddenly, a minor distraction happens on court. It could be anything, positive or negative – maybe a controversial line call, an argument with the umpire, a bird flying onto the court, a comment from the crowd, an injury scare – anything.

This distraction breaks the player’s intense thought pattern and instantly they relax. And suddenly, they click into the Zone and begin hitting winners, to surge back into the match.

So when a player is in a downward spiral, they need to break the pattern - with distraction, or by bringing some fun or relaxation into their mindset. Then there are some on-court methods the player can use, to relax their mind and begin zoning during a match.

 

Relaxation techniques during change of ends can help greatly, such as closing their eyes and imagining a deeply relaxation scenario. You often see players on the tour throw a towel over their head when they sit down, and this is one of the reasons why they do this – so they can escape the match atmosphere for a few moments, and calm their thoughts.

Others just seem to stare into space during the change of ends – and this is also a little-known meditation technique (amongst players, anyway), for relaxing the mind quickly. They simply focus on a spot in front of them - it could be anything, such as a mark on the court - and simply hold their unwavering focus on that spot, for a minute or so. Quick, simple and effective.

Last of all, rather than looking around at the crowd between points in matches, it is preferable for players to remain cloistered in their own inner world, keeping their mind calm and focused, away from crowd distractions. This also helps prevent their conscious mind from firing up, with its incessant opinions on the match, the crowd, their play, etc.

Of course, it’s fine for players to look at their support group, as they can derive great comfort from them. But otherwise, looking at their strings between points is helpful for maintaining a deep focus between points. To sum up – every player has an awesomely powerful mind, their subconscious.

 

By experimenting with various methods to bring out its powers, they can discover the personal formula that opens access to the Zone for each player, more and more often. Once they master this ability, they can bring it out their best more and more often - any day, any time, in any match. And from there, rankings only go in one direction – onward and upward! Go forth and conquer.

 

"The Mind controls the body, and the Mind is Unlimited"

The best of success, Craig Townsend

 

"The Mind controls the body, and the mind is unlimited". Craig Townsend

Article © 2000 - 2035 Craig Townsend / Its Mind over Matter. All right reserved