WTA Tour

Confidence is the belief that you can successfully do what you set out to achieve.

Research indicates that confidence is the key factor that separates top athletes from the rest. Top athletes do not only wish or hope for success, they are absolutely convinced of their ability to succeed. So how do they get to be so confident? Are they just born that way? No! They have learned it and so can you.

There is not much point in being technically flawless, extremely fit and tactically brilliant, if every time you get out onto the court you are full of doubts and are unsure about your abilities. When you watch a sports match it is easy to spot the athlete who loses confidence.

"When athletes feel confident, they tend to be more relaxed, to feel less pressure, to remain calmer, and to solve problems more intelligently." (Dr Jim Loehr, Sports Psychologist)

Let's consider Dotty the Doubter. Dotty trains hard, eats well and practices many hours. Yet somehow, she seems to lose a lot of matches. Today, she meets Connie the Conqueror.

* Dotty starts off okay, then in the middle of a close match, she makes a few mistakes and within a few moments, she begins to play conservatively, she tightens up and begins mis-hitting some balls.
* Dotty becomes distracted by external factors (the wind, a bad call, the crowd) and her head and shoulders begin to droop. Inside her head, she doubts herself, she feels mad at herself, and starts thinking negatively.

Who needs an opponent when this is happening? Dotty will defeat herself with her own lack of confidence. If she spent as much time to learn and practice her mental game as she does the physical aspects, the outcome of this match may not be so predictable.

As legendary tennis player Jimmy Connors once declared, "Tennis is 95% mental". It seems surprising that so many athletes are like Dotty and spend literally thousands of hours physically training, yet pay little attention to improving their mental skills.

The art of confidence is to learn to think and act like a winner.
1. Recognize and take responsibility for the mental side of your game.
2. Work on those aspects that need improvement.
3. Practice, practice, practice, until confidence becomes a part of you.

RECOGNIZE YOUR CONFIDENCE-BUILDERS
Evaluate:
* Ask yourself if you are doing everything possible in all areas to be the best you can.
* Honestly review: technique, tactics, nutrition, sleep, fitness, recovery, focus, mental skills, and attitude.

Plan:
* Identify your strengths and areas for improvement.
* Set your goals.
* Plan how to reach your goals.

Believe
* Your beliefs can help you reach your goals or block you.
* Your beliefs turn your dreams (or nightmares) into reality.
* You choose what to believe.

Self-Talk
* Be aware of all the internal conversations you have in your head.
* Your self-talk directs the outcome of everything you do. If you always call yourself "stupid" eventually, you will believe it.
* Focus instead on the positive side of the situation. Instead of "I am a loser" try "I will learn from that match".

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." (Wayne Gretzky, ice hockey champion)

DEVELOP CONFIDENCE
Expectations
* No one feels 100% confident all the time. When you do something new or something very challenging, it is okay to feel less confident about your ability.
* As you learn skills to better prepare for the challenges, your confidence will improve and your comfort with the activity increases.

Goals
* Set "mini-goals" along the way, e.g. "Improve my first serve percentage to 65%"
* Successfully reaching these realistic mini-goals over time will lead to improved confidence overall.
* You can become a more confident athlete regardless of your results this week.

Play in the Now
* Focus on this point, this game. Don't worry about what happened before or what may happen.
* Let go of the outcome so you can concentrate on what you are doing right now.

Stop Trying
* Sometimes you want something so much, that you try too hard to push it along and make it even harder for yourself.
* Trust that you can relax and let things proceed. Have the confidence to let things unfold as they should.

Pump Up
* Pump up your self-talk to make it even more powerful and confidence boosting.
* Instead of "good", your volley is great; your serve is awesome; your mood is fantastic.
* Give yourself credit and praise for what you do well. You have special talents and abilities that are unique to you.

See, Feel and Hear
* Use visualization techniques to create realistic, confident images of yourself in different game/match situations.
* Athletes who lack confidence tends to see what they fear might happen.
* Confident athletes see, feel and hear winning shots, anticipating moves and overcoming challenges on the court.
* Practice visualization over and over again for it to work well.

Act
* Confident athletes look like champions. Their posture says they are ready for any challenges. They hold their head up, shoulders back, and walk with a bounce in their step. Their faces remain calm and alert.
* Acting as if you are confident, can even trick you into feeling more confident. Try it and see for yourself. It works!

Go for it!
* Always do your best. Make a commitment and go for it.
* Practice and play with 100% effort and dedication.
* Confident people look for opportunities, take them, and turn them into successes.