Recently, I was on court with a player who was in a sizable deficit in the score. It was interesting to see the player’s reaction. The fear of losing the game was evident. There was an emotional response, and in that moment, it became important for me as the coach to help the player re-center, find their balance, and focus on the task at hand. The match was still very much alive. There were all the chances to post a comeback with the right mindset and effort level.
When Fear Takes Over
So what do we do when the fear of losing or failure grips us? How do we continue to compete and give it our all until the last point—versus throwing in the towel, feeling sorry for ourselves, and coming to tears?
In my experience, the key is to take a few deep breaths and center the mind in the present moment. The mind may drift to the past, recounting mistakes or poor shots. This leads to self-pity or self-criticism, which makes it hard to become unstuck from those thoughts. It’s difficult to focus on the next point when you’re stuck in the past and beating yourself up over how you got into the hole.
The key in this situation is to recognize the mind’s tendency to go backward—and to disengage from those thoughts. Consciously pull yourself away from the past and bring your attention to the present. Remind yourself that the match is still on. It’s not over until the last point is played.
This re-centering by disengaging from past thoughts, focusing on your breathing, and shifting attention to the task at hand, including the strategy and shots you need to execute—helps you get unstuck and move into a more positive effort for the points ahead. That effort can change the course of the match in your favor.
Bring the Mind to the Present
Just as the mind goes into the past, it races into the future as well. With the player whom I was coaching, the thought that “I’m going to lose” became overwhelming. Such is our tendency to analyze, predict, and look at potential outcomes including worst-case scenarios. Here too, we need to disengage from those future projections and pull the mind back to the present.
Use your breathing to re-center. Focus on the next point. Create a plan for how you want to play it. From a competitive standpoint, the best strategy is not to fixate on the outcome of the match based on your current situation, but to simply play the next point as best as you can.
One Point at a Time
Playing one point at a time to the best of your ability, gives you the best chance to succeed. I’ve played many matches where I was down in the score—sometimes by significant margins—but by continuing to believe in myself, staying present, and playing each point fully, I was able to claw my way back and even turn the match around.
Turning the match around and winning may not happen every time. But at least you’re giving yourself a chance until the end. That’s the mental strength aspect of the game: to stay present, recognize when the mind drifts to the past or future, and bring it back—disciplined and focused—on the task at hand: competing on the next point and continuing until the last point is played.
Try This Next Time
The next time you’re in a difficult situation and facing the fear of losing, remember this: the mind will take you into the past and the future. Bring it back to the present. Take some deep breaths. Focus on the task at hand and the next point in front of you.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
Best,
Harsh Mankad