Myths of Tennis Psychology 1
This article has appeared in various popular publications in tennis including Happy Tennis Austria
The 8 Greatest Myths of Tennis Psychology
by: Roland A. Carlstedt, Ph.D., ABSP
When you go to the doctor you expect to receive a proper diagnosis. If you were
ill you'd also want your physician to give you a valid and reliable plan to make you
healthy again. Similarly, although not quite as serious (tell that to a tennis fanatic), when
you take a tennis lesson you expect to improve your game. Usually, you probably believe
that what your teaching pro tells you about improving your tennis strokes.
When it comes to tennis technique it's pretty cut-and-dry. You and your coach can
readily see whether the desired effect of a particular tip or drill to improve a stroke takes
hold or not. The same applies when ultra slow-motion video camera is used to analyze
the flight of the tennis ball or position of a player's arm, what you see, essentially, is the
way it is.
Unfortunately, when it comes to TENNIS PSYCHOLOGY things are not quite as
clear. Do sport psychologists and coaches really know what is going on in the mind of a
player? Is it really true that tennis is 90% mental? Does consciously changing one's body
language really have an effect on performance?
The answer is we do not know for sure! When it comes to tennis psychology,
much still remains a mystery, in fact many of the things you've heard about tennis
psychology and mental training may actually be false or half-truths at best. Myths in
tennis psychology are just as prevalent as myths surrounding the
technical/tactical/physical side of the game, if not more so, with tennis and sport
Myths of Tennis Psychology 2
psychology being in the infant stage when it comes to research of its key concepts (e.g.,
intensity, visualization, body-language, control of thoughts).
Nevertheless, despite the tenuous nature of many of the key concepts,
interventions, and common advice in tennis psychology, they continue to be propagated
as though they were the gospel. Worse yet, most sport psychologists rarely monitor or
study the efficacy of their interventions, advice, and "pet" programs. Unfortunately, this
has led to a credibility problem in sport and tennis psychology, and although the field is
booming in terms of the number of practitioners that are jumping on the "I'm a mental
performance enhancement expert" bandwagon, studies indicate that fewer athletes
including tennis players are buying into sport psychology and many of the myths
perpetuated by so-called "mental experts." For example, Klaus Lufen found in surveying
all of the top 200 men and women professional tennis players, that although over 90%
believed the mental side of tennis was crucial to success, only about 3% of these athletes
engaged in any form of psychological training. WHY? Because after discovering that
various forms of psycho-"voodoo" had no readily discernible effect on their performance
they stopped engaging in specific forms of mind-training and in most cases "fired" their
psycho-gurus.
Anecdotal evidence in the form of an informal survey by Dr. Jim Taylor, a sport
psychologist, supports the hypothesis that athletes are not really buying into what sport
psychologists are selling, finding that there are very few sport psychologists that earn
enough money to support themselves by practicing Sport Psychology; suggesting, not
enough athletes, coaches, or teams are willing to pay the big bucks (or any money in
Myths of Tennis Psychology 3
some cases). They are essentially saying, "Show me it (mental training) really works,
then I'll pay."
Although, I have painted a dismal picture there is hope, both for athletes and sport
psychologists. However, the field of sport psychology needs to be shaken up. Tennis
players and coaches must become critically thinking consumers of sport psychological
advice. Sport psychologists must base their advice on sound scientific data and not
perpetuate myths and self-generated unproven protocols to improve performance, all the
while selling themselves as mental messiahs. In scanning web sites of even highly
qualified practitioners one finds self-embellishing propaganda. Doctoral level
psychologists calling themselves the "future of sport psychology," or "Arizona's secret
weapon," (their psychologist), or "the doctor who'll put you in the zone" are some of the
more modest slogans you’ll find, with many sport psychologists selling a cult-like guru
image marked by excessive claims, crass self-promotion and gross egocentricity. In the
end the client suffers, with a backlash to be expected, as is already underway, with the
field of Sport Psychology continually losing more and more credibility.
So dear reader, remember, no matter who says what, regardless of how famous
they are, how many times they have been on T.V., or who they have worked with, ONLY
THE TRUTH MATTERS, (an elusive goal [the truth] in sport psychology), and finding
the truth starts with dispelling myths and learning to approach your own mental game
from a critical and even skeptical perspective.
Myths of Tennis Psychology 4
Let's get to the 8 myths of tennis psychology!
1. "Tennis is 90% mental" (Boris Becker among others)
Although it would be hard to argue that tennis is not a mental game, it is by no
means mental 90% of the time. Before accepting such a claim one must define what
"mental" means. If we deem the scope of mental activity to include perception-action
relationships one can readily claim tennis to be even 100% mental. However, the scope of
the definition of "mental" usually is limited to processes and mechanisms such as
personality, concentration, motivation, etc. From this perspective studies have
consistently shown that psychological (mental) factors rarely, if ever, make up more than
10% of the variance in the tennis performance equation. That is, if there were 100
variables making up performance, only 10 of these would be psychological. My most
recent research however does indicate that during critical momemts of competition
psychological factors do contribute more than 10% to the performance equation. The
bottom line though is that trivial statements such as "mental factors make up 90% of
tennis performance" are just that, trivial statements that are rendered meaningless without
scientific support. In other words, "so what!" What does it mean to know this? Should
one even accept inaccurate and vague statements? Will knowing this help you reach the
90% level?
2. The "16 second cure" (Jim Loehr)
The "16 second" cure is a ritualistic recipe that supposedly helps players compose
themselves between points. By engaging in a scripted routine of consciously regimented
movement, body language, and internal thoughts it is hypothesized a player will be better
ready to contend with the upcoming point. Sounds plausible but for one major flaw. The
Myths of Tennis Psychology 5
16 second time frame is based on an average (mean) time derived from observations of
hundreds of tennis players. In psychological methodology the reliance on mean scores in
any study is weak and reduces the power of the data. Using mean scores to structure an
intervention (mental training) routine ignores a basic and central tenet in psychology, that
of individual differences, or in psychophysiology the concept of "individual response
specificity." You cannot accurately base conclusions concerning individuals on group
scores. Each person is unique. Steffi Graf was a less than 10 second player, whereas Ivan
Lendl was a 20 second + player. Everyone has their own ideal time frame. Although the
concept in its pure form has merit, it is tremendously weakened by stressing a timeframe
that is not cognizant of individual differences. Personality factors and behavioral
tendencies determine one's timeframe. Between point timeframes in tennis are widely
variable and must be ascertained on a case-by-case or player-by-player basis.
Failing to account for individual differences in between point timeframes would lead to
players acting like robots. Can we really expect players following an "en masse"
prescribed routine to improve significantly? Ask yourself "how important are between
point moments really," or "if two players follow the 16 second routine to the "T" will
there still be a loser?"
The 16 second cure has done little to advance our scientific knowledge of tennis
performance. You will not find a published report on the "16 second cure" in any
scientific sport psychology journal. So go time yourself. Establish your own between
point time frame norm, but don’t be surprised if you don’t win the next point even after
having followed your ideal timeframe routine.
Myths of Tennis Psychology 6
3. "A reduced pulse or heart rate is associated with better performance" or "slow your
heart" (Martina Navratilova)
Many lay sport psychologists and analysts including Martina Navratilova and
especially golf commentators maintain (on the basis of what I ask?) that lowering one's
heart rate between points is associated with better performance. Show me the data!
Crucial is not the baseline heart rate prior to action, rather that a phenomenon
called heart rate deceleration kicks in and is accentuated leading up to an action phase of
a match (e.g., prior to the return). Heart rate deceleration can take place during high and
low levels of baseline ("resting") heart rate. In a study I did (my Master's thesis in
Psychology) a highly ranked former California junior champion (who will remain
nameless) actually had higher heart rate levels in a match he won compared to one he
lost. However, in the match he won significantly more heart rate deceleration between
points was evident. Heart rate deceleration is associated with heightened attention
(concentration) in anticipation of an important stimulus (e.g. the serve). (MORE ON
THIS and HOW TO MANIPULATE HEART RATE DECELERATION IN A COMING
ARTICLE).
Again, here we encounter another trivial statement having little meaning. It
appears that commentators and crossover pseudo-psychologists like to hear themselves
spout information sounding scientific even if it is bunk, so long as it sounds scientific.
When you hear these things, please, don't accept them without investigating their validity.
In the case of heart rate we don't want players and coaches trying to manipulate heart rate
in the wrong direction or confuse physical heart activity parameters with psychological
ones.
Myths of Tennis Psychology 7
4. "Visualization will help everyone improve" (John Yandell and others)
Although I respect John Yandell's work immensely and recognize his contribution
to our understanding of certain components of the imagery process, and in principle
recognize that visualization can be a powerful intervention, it is not a cure all, and in fact
may be a mental training modality that over 90% of athletes and tennis players cannot
even properly access or utilize. My doctoral dissertation research found that only 11% of
highly skilled athletes were capable of properly utilizing or engaging in visualization.
Again, as in the case of the "16 second cure," it's a matter of individual differences,
differences that are not taken into account by most practitioners who teach mental
imagery.
Mental Imagery or visualization is the most widely used mental training method
and yet do coaches and sport psychologists really know how effective imagery is on an
athlete-to-athlete basis? Does it really improve performance? Or, as John Yandell
recently astutely recognized, "visualization may be a continually ongoing process on a
subtle and even unconscious basis," and as my data suggests, not necessarily in any
performance enhancing manner; even after attempts to channel imagery to improve
mental and technical performance.
It appears, either you have the ability to utilize and experience and benefit from
mental imagery, or you don't, and it appears most athletes don't, at least on a consciously
induced or manipulated level. My findings call into question one of the fundamental
intervention modalities in sports (mental imagery), suggesting that sport psychologists
should assess athletes on certain traits associated with imagery ability first and not
Myths of Tennis Psychology 8
routinely administer this form of mental training irrespective of individual differences in
the ability to visualize. (MORE ON THIS IN A COMING ARTICLE).
5. "There is an ideal tennis personality or champions profile" (VIC BRADEN and Mr.
NIEDNAGEL)
Vic Braden and a cohort who calls himself the "Brain Doctor" (a former Broker
without recognized education in neuroscience) claim they are on the road to finding the
ideal champion’s personality and will have a DNA brain map of such a person in the near
future, disregarding over 40 years of research including my recent dissertation research
on over 700 athletes, in one swipe. Their false insinuations and assertions
have no merit and will do much to hinder and "de-motivate" persons not possessing
narrow conceptions of the ideal athlete personality.
As previously mentioned personality factors and behavioral tendencies have yet to
exceed 10% of the variance in the performance equation, with all types of personalities
and personality constellations being represented in professional tennis at the highest
levels. Just contrast John McEnroe with Stefan Edberg, or Martina Hingis with Venus
Williams.
So please, don't buy this myth. Feel free to pursue your tennis goals whether
you're a Goran Ivanisevic or Todd Martin type, or a Jennifer Capriati or Margaret Court
(for you boomers) type. There are much more important and non-psychological factors
that will determine how far you get as a tennis player. (MORE ON PERSONALITY and
TENNIS IN A FUTURE ARTICLE).
Myths of Tennis Psychology 9
6. "Watch your body language" (Perhaps the most frequent "Psycho-babble ever babbled
on TV)
Whenever I hear this myth (every other day during a sport telecast) I either roll
my eyes or depending on my psychological state yell "I'm sick of hearing that one again."
Body language is an after-the-fact response to preceding incident or occurrence during
competition. Who creates body language that counters one's real emotions as sport
psychologists want you to do? Not many players do or can (they try), and it is absolutely
wrong to suggest or for someone to infer that what you see in terms of body language
reflects a "real" emotional state, along the lines of "what you see is not what you get."
Just because you follow a coaches or sport psychologists advice to show "positive" or
good body language does not mean your body is going to buy into your fake positive
facial expression or the confident manner in which you hold your shoulders or stare your
opponent into the ground. Moreover, there is little if any evidence to suggest that body
language charades will somehow lead to better performance or cause your opponent to
play worse.
Studies of unconscious processes show that the repression of emotions leads to
psychophysiological reactions that may indeed, actually be detrimental to performance.
In other words, even though you put on your game face and contain your anger (going
into your actor’s mode), your underlying unconscious physiological reaction may
intensify beyond the level of emotion you were trying to suppress. So the rule here again
is, individual differences. Go with your personality and behavioral tendencies. Reactions
to tennis occurrences vary as a function of your temperament, they are also temporary
Myths of Tennis Psychology 10
and are not likely to affect long-term performance in a match (or even short-term) so long
as you do not fight you natural emotional propensities.
Let's put an end to this myth. (MORE ON THIS LATER).
7. "Don't think it Just do It (Nike and others)
Another meaningless psycho-platitude. A saying that says little. Studies actually
indicate that top players are constantly engaging in strategic thinking, not only during
pre-action phases of a match but during points. The decision to suddenly go for a winner
is often preceded by conscious thoughts thereto. Even unconscious processes reflect
thinking or active cognitive activity during action or competition. Without a cognitive (or
thinking) template you would be helpless on the court. So long as thoughts remain
positive and goal oriented you are in good shape. One promising intervention trains
athletes to stop negative and facilitate positive thoughts. This individualized intervention
(cognitive-behavioral) appears to have more potential than more popular ones such as
imagery. (MORE LATER).
8. You've got to get in the "Zone" or find your "Ideal Performance State" (Hanin/Loehr)
Sounds good. However, what is the ZONE? What is an "Ideal Performance
State?" The IDS sounds like it came right out of Hanin's Zone of Optimum Functioning
(ZOF) study. Again, here some vague notion of the zone or ideal state is being
"voodooed" upon athletes. Sure, this state must exist somewhere, perhaps in Hawaii, but
will never be found on the basis of reading some sport psychologist's recipe for achieving
it, especially when being sold to the masses in a cookbook fashion.
Myths of Tennis Psychology 11
The way to the zone or ideal state is elusive and a long journey requiring
competent practitioners with training in applied psychophysiology and biofeedback to
first establish individual parameters of zone of ideal state functioning. That means having
numerous psychophysiological systems monitored to find out how your body functions
when you're playing well. That is extremely hard to do. The most promising method is to
monitor heart activity, the only measure you can actually document over the course of an
entire match as I did in my Master's thesis. Once that is done 20 times or so and after
having analyzed tons of data, we may actually get a little bit closer to defining a player's
ideal state. But that's just the beginning. Then a player needs to learn biofeedback under
strict monitored conditions to see if all of those words about having to do this or that to
enter the zone or state actually work. It's a long road.
To date most practitioners just talk about the zone or state but really have never
attempted to document it even though there are ways to do so, usually because they lack
the training to do so. (MUCH MORE ON THIS LATER).
In conclusion, these are some of most transparent myths in Tennis Psychology.
My advice for now, don't believe everything you hear or read. In future articles we'll
disect the above myths and show you how you and your coach can become your own
sport psychologist by learning more about sport psychological phenomenon and how to
critically evaluate it.