Tennis IQ Podcast

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss how athletes should approach returning back to tennis after an injury or break from the sport. Many athletes experienced the challenges of taking an extended break from their sport during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the co-hosts discuss the psychological differences between this stoppage and breaks due to injuries. Additionally, they talk about certain issues...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss how tennis coaches and players can integrate mental skills on the practice court. It begins with utilizing deliberate and purposeful practice as a way to maximize time on court. Subsequently, Brian and Josh review the need to play practice matches and simulate higher-pressure situations in practice that are likely to occur during matches. Lastly, they reflec...

Flow is a psychological concept that was named by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in 1975 and can be defined as a state of complete immersion in an activity. In this episode, Brian and Josh describe this concept and its characteristics. Additionally, they explain some ways that tennis players can increase their likelihood of achieving flow on the court. Though it is likely that most of the time tennis pla...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the concept of fear of failure. From their perspective, it is important to determine what it is exactly that is being feared, and how fear manifests itself on the court with physical, mental, and emotional consequences. Mindset shifts and physical tension release strategies to help tennis players deal with these symptoms of fear and pressure are reviewed. La...

In this episode, Brian and Josh explore the topic of positive psychology and offer some interventions that can be helpful for tennis players. Positive psychology takes a strengths-based approach focusing on utilizing the strengths and positive emotions of individuals with the goal of thriving, flourishing, and well-being. Topics of discussion are the importance of having a high ratio of positive t...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss handling pressure. Some common barriers to performing well under pressure, including unrealistic expectations, are reviewed. They break down higher-pressure matches and tournaments and give some tips for how to mentally prepare for these instances. Mentally rehearsing and preparing for high-pressure moments in matches including break points, deuce points, an...

Marius Barnard is a former ATP pro who spent 13 years on the tour, winning 6 titles, and reaching the men’s doubles quarterfinals at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open. During his playing career, he also had doubles wins over 6 world number ones, including Roger Federer. While playing on the tour, Marius studied psychology and business management. After his career was over, he used his experti...

The 2021 Australian Open has concluded with Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic claiming the singles titles. We discuss how dominant each of these champions have been (Djokovic is 9-0 in Australian Open title matches and Osaka is 4-0 in her first four major finals), and how their mental strength has allowed them to become the champions that they are today. We also reflect on other storylines from the A...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the importance of focusing on the process. First, they break down the improvement process of becoming a better tennis player, which is slow and gradual. Next, they address the importance of enjoyment during the development process and how aiming for 1% improvements on a daily basis leads to significant long-term results. Lastly, they talk about the importanc...

Cristina Rolo and Dave de Haan co-founded Rolo Mental Coaching in 2005, and their coaching focuses on performance enhancement and quality of life. Both Cristina and Dave are internationally recognized experts in the area of performance psychology and mental coaching, especially in tennis. They have extensive experience at the elite and ATP professional level, and they co-authored the book, Mental...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss routines and break down routines into three parts. First, they review pre-performance routines and how to prepare mentally and physically leading up to a competition. Next, they address during-performance routines, and specifically the "16 second cure" developed by Dr. Jim Loehr to help tennis players manage their time in-between points. Lastly, they talk ab...

In this episode, Brian and Josh explore the topic of mindfulness. They broadly define and discuss the importance of the topic and discuss how mindfulness can be trained for tennis players. Additionally, thoughts are provided on how mindfulness can be practiced in a number of ways including meditation, mindful walks, mindful eating, and choosing to "savor" the present moment. Lastly, Brian and Josh...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss how to handle playing against difficult opponents and cheating. They discuss the mentality needed leading up to the match to perform at a high level against difficult opponents, including having contingency plans and the ability to reset after a cheating incident. They also share anecdotes of situations from their own playing and coaching careers when they h...

In this episode, Brian and Josh explore the topic of "mental toughness" and break the concept into key attributes and characteristics of mentally tough tennis players and athletes. Mental toughness is often cited as a differentiating factor between tennis players of similar playing levels, but defining the concept and outlining it's attributes/characteristics can be challenging. This episode inclu...

Episode 22 of the Tennis IQ Podcast discusses senior tennis through the perspective of self-determination theory (SDT). We discuss autonomy, competence (mastery), and relatedness as critical factors for helping senior tennis players stay motivated. We also discuss the importance of training perceptual skills, decision making skills, and mental toughness as a way for players to continue to perform...

Jeff Greenwald is an internationally recognized sport psychology consultant and licensed therapist. For over twenty years he has been helping athletes and professionals around the world transform and take their performances, and their lives to another level through his personal coaching, seminars, book, audio programs, and online courses. Frustrated with his performance as a modestly ranked profes...

Nikola Milinkovic has extensive work experience in sport and performance psychology and leadership coaching across a variety of high-performing environments. Nikola works with team and individual athletes, currently focusing on elite junior, ATP and WTA tennis players. Nikola spent over a decade directing sport psychology programs in high performance tennis settings in the US and the Netherlands....

In this episode of the Tennis IQ Podcast, Josh and Brian share their favorite books related to sport/performance psychology and tennis. With the holidays right around the corner, this is a great chance to look into getting these books for someone close to you or for yourself. These books vary greatly in terms of topic, perspective, and age, but all share valuable insights for athletes, coaches, an...

For the 18th episode of the Tennis IQ Podcast, Brian and Josh discuss visualization and imagery and how these tools can be used to improve performance. To begin, they discuss how visualization/imagery can be used off-court, and how tennis champions like Novak Djokovic and Bianca Andreescu have utilized these mental tools to improve their performance. Next, they discuss how visualization and imager...

As 2020 comes to a close, Brian and Josh discuss how to review the year of 2020 and how to plan for the year to come. Despite how challenging of a year 2020 was, it is important to highlight accomplishments and milestones that were reached throughout the year. The development of healthy habits and process goals are discussed in order to achieve larger performance and outcome goals. Additionally, t...

Dr. Stephen Walker has been involved in the sport and performance psychology field since 1983 when he began at the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Colorado. He is board certified with the Association of Applied Sport Psychology and is a member of the United States Olympic committee's registry of sport psychologists. Over the years, he has developed mental training programs for se...

For the 15th episode of the Tennis IQ Podcast, Brian and Josh discuss motivation and the importance of having a clear idea of what motivates each individual as tennis players and as performers. The academic concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, as well as self-determination theory, are covered in relation to improving your motivation for tennis. Brian and Josh also reveal their  “or...

Sean Brawley is a former Top 150 world ranked tennis professional who competed at the highest level of the game including Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. After the tennis tour, Sean met and began working closely with Tim Gallwey, the author of The Inner Game series of books including the classic, The Inner Game of Tennis. Sean is the first certified Inner Game coach in the world. He has facilitated n...

Coach Bill Tym was an All-American at the University of Florida where he won 2 Southeastern conference singles titles, and is also in the UF Athletics Hall of Fame. He went on to compete on the professional tour where he won 10 national and international titles. As a coach, he is a USPTA Master Professional and past USPTA president, and a member of the USPTA Hall of Fame. He was named USPTA Profes...

The 2020 French Open has concluded with Rafael Nadal winning an astonishing 13th French Open title and record-tying 20th major in the men’s championship, and Iga Swiatek winning her first French Open and major title in the women’s championship. We review the Nadal-Djokovic and Swiatek-Kenin final matches and offer insights into the factors that determined the outcomes of each match. Additionally,...