How to build your focus in tennis and stop the silly mistakes

This week I am at a pro tournament in the United States with one of my young players. And I see the same thing I see with amateur players. At some point, the players check out.

The lights go off. For a few shots, the link between the mind and the body is gone. And then a ball that looks easy goes into the net.

Here is the truth. There is no easy shot in tennis. Amateur or pro, every ball needs respect. Even a soft volley just over the net. If you are not really there, you will miss it.

So how do you build focus? We start with your life. Then we go to the court.

Focus is a muscle you train all day

Let me give you two lists. One list builds your focus. The other list wears it down.

Start with the first minutes of your day. Do you sit quietly? Breathe? Maybe some yoga or tai chi? Or do you grab your phone and scroll? If you scroll, you are still training your attention. You are training it to skip, skip, next, next.

Here is how the two lists look side by side.

Look at the first list. Every item takes time. The reward does not come right now. It comes later, and it goes deeper.

The second list is quick, quick, quick. You get a reward straight away. But you also train your brain to want the next thing, and the next.

One more idea. Do things that use all your senses at once. In the video, I juggle while I talk. If I am not fully there, I drop the ball. Sitting on the sofa asks nothing of you, so you miss things.

You only have so much focus

Think of focus as a supply. You only have so much. How you spend it off the court decides how much you have left on it.

So if you check out again and again in matches, ask yourself a simple question. What do I do with my attention the rest of the time?

You have to build it on purpose, and it is worth it.

Ask yourself why so many of us are so distracted, even addicted, today. My belief is this. It is much easier to control people, and to manipulate them, when they are weak. Weak in many ways. And you make more money from them too.

So when you learn to focus, in your life and on court, you become a stronger person. Stronger for yourself. And I believe you become a good force in the world, the kind of world I want to see.

Now let's go to the court. I will give you three tools.

Tool one: one goal at a time

Go on court with one goal. Make it specific, and pick one that will give you a big return.

Most players go on court with no goal at all. They have no idea what they are working on. Some players, and some coaches, go the other way: do this, and this, and this, and this. After three shots, the brain says no. Too much.

One thing. That is the rule.

So what is that one thing? You have four kinds of focus to choose from.

A strategy focus. For example, play a high ball, then step in and take the next ball early. Or hit right, then left, with a clear target every time.

A mental focus. For example, one slow breath between points. You calm down, your heart rate drops, and you are back.

A physical focus. Some players play better loose and relaxed. Others play better switched on. Think of a boxer, light and bouncy on his feet. If the boxer does not suit you, pick another picture.

A technical focus. This surprised me, because it is not how I work. But some players feel calmer with a clear picture of the movement. Maybe something about how they finish the swing.

You need to find out which one works for you. That becomes your focus.

Tool two: use your senses

Your senses pull you into the moment. You can use them in two ways: long and slow, or short and sharp.

Long and slow

I once had a coach who used a kind of moving meditation in practice. He would say: watch the ball. Then: can you read the brand name on the ball as it comes to you? Can you see the seams? Can you watch the ball go into your strings?

That is focus through your eyes. For me, sound worked better. I listened to the sound of each hit. I tried to guess how good the sound would be before I hit. That put me in the flow.

You can also follow the rhythm. Bounce, hit, bounce, hit. Or feel your breathing, and breathe with the ball.

Martial arts use the same idea. Beginners hold the horse stance: feet wide, sit down low, and stay there for a long, long time. It builds focus that lasts. Slow, calm rallies where you stay with one sense do the same for your tennis.

Short and sharp

If you do the same thing for too long, your brain goes to sleep. You stop thinking. So surprise it.

Juggling is one way. Another is to rally with a new challenge every ten seconds. Ten seconds on one leg. Ten on the other leg. Then one eye closed. Then the other eye. Then your other hand. Then two hands. Change, change, change.

This comes from an idea called differential learning, from the sports scientist Wolfgang Schöllhorn. We learn better when the task keeps changing. And we learn to be ready for anything. The idea goes much deeper than this, but that is the heart of it.

Long or short, the point is the same. Use your senses, and you have to be there.

Tool three: find what motivates you

We all have a different kind of motivation. When I profile how a player moves, I can see and feel which kind they have. And the words that work for one player do nothing for another.

Say the goal is to stay with your breathing for a whole set.

For a competitive player, give a challenge. "I bet you cannot stay with your breathing for one whole set." This player does not need to be in a match to compete. A dare is enough.

For a player who leads with the heart, ask for a favour. "Can you do this for me? Stay with your breathing for one set."

For a player who sees the future, paint a picture. "Imagine how it would feel to have this calm breathing for a whole set."

The way you talk matters, to yourself and to the people you coach. Pick the words that fit.

The Chesnokov method

Now the special example I promised. Andrei Chesnokov was a top Russian player in the 1980s. Years later, near the end of his career, I enjoyed practising with him.

At one point, Andrei coached Marat Safin. Before that, Marat could hardly win a match. Then he went on a huge winning run on clay. The change was crazy.

A journalist asked Andrei how he did it. Andrei said it was very simple. He told Marat that if he made a mistake in the first three shots of a rally, Andrei would punch him in the face.

That is one way to motivate a player like Marat. He needed someone to hold him. It will not work for everybody. If you do not have that character, please do not try it.

What about matches?

In matches, the tools are the same. But now you have emotions. You have fears. That makes it harder.

What you build in practice will take time to show up in matches. Be patient. Keep to one thing at a time, and it will come.

Your focus is your edge

Building focus is your job. Nobody else can do it for you. That is a challenge, and it is also a chance. Very few people can hold their focus today, in life or on a tennis court.

So if you build it, you will have a big advantage over your opponents. It will help in your work and in your relationships too.

To sum up. Off the court, do more of what keeps you present and less of what makes you skip. On the court, pick one goal. Use your senses, long and slow or short and sharp. And use the words that move you.

Do this, and the tennis you play in practice starts to become the tennis you play when it counts.

Frequently asked questions

Why do I make silly mistakes out of nowhere in tennis?

Most silly mistakes come from a short drop in focus. For a few shots, the link between your mind and your body switches off. Players call this checking out. It happens to amateurs, and it also happens to young professionals. The ball looks easy, so you stop respecting it, and then you miss it. There is no easy shot in tennis. A soft volley just over the net still needs you to be there. The fix starts away from the court. Focus is like a muscle. What you do with your attention every day, such as scrolling your phone or reading a book, trains it up or wears it down. Then you train it on court, one goal at a time.

How can I improve my focus in tennis?

Start in your daily life. Do more things that need you to be present and take time to pay off, like quiet breathing in the morning, reading a real book, walking in nature, playing music or learning a language. Do fewer things that train you to skip to the next thing, like scrolling social media. Then use three tools on court. First, pick one goal for each session, never zero and never three. Second, use your senses: watch the ball into your strings, listen to the sound of the hit, or feel your breathing. Third, use the kind of motivation that works for you, such as a challenge, a favour or a picture of the future.

What should I focus on during a tennis point?

Pick one thing, and pick the type of thing that suits you. There are four main types. A strategy focus, such as a high ball followed by stepping in to take the next ball early, or hitting right then left with a clear target each time. A mental focus, such as one slow, conscious breath between points to bring your heart rate down. A physical focus, such as staying loose and fluid, or staying bouncy on your feet like a boxer. Or a technical focus, such as how you finish the swing. Some players feel calmer with a technical cue and some feel worse. Try each type and keep the one that helps you stay present.

How do daily habits affect focus on the tennis court?

You arrive on court with the focus your day has built. If your day is full of quick hits, like scrolling, swiping and switching from one show to the next, you are training your brain to jump to the next thing. That habit comes with you onto the court, and it shows up as lost points and easy misses. If your day includes slow things that need you to be present, like reading, quiet time, nature, music or a new language, you build the opposite habit. Think of focus as a limited supply. How you spend it off the court decides how much you have left when the score is tight.

What is differential learning in tennis?

Differential learning is a training idea from the German sports scientist Wolfgang Schöllhorn. The idea is that we learn better when the task keeps changing. In tennis, you might rally on one leg for ten seconds, then the other leg, then with one eye closed, then with your other hand, then with two hands, changing every ten seconds. Each change surprises the brain and stops it from going into a sleepy, automatic mode. Used in short bursts, it is a good way to train focus, because you cannot get through it without being present. It also teaches you to be ready for anything, which is what a real match asks of you.

Why is it harder to focus in matches than in practice?

Matches bring emotions and fears that practice does not. You care about the result, you may feel nervous, and your mind starts to drift towards the score or the outcome. That makes focus harder to hold. The work you do in practice will not show up in matches straight away. It takes time. But if you keep building focus in your daily life and keep training one thing at a time on court, it will carry over. Very few people can hold their focus today. That makes it one of the biggest advantages you can build over your opponents, and it helps off the court too.