Tennis IQ Podcast

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the impact of irrational self-talk. Examples of this type of self-talk involve words and phrases such as ‘have to’, ‘need to’, ‘supposed to’, ‘should’, ‘must’, etc. These phrases add pressure and make it harder for tennis players to be at their best. The hosts reviewed how irrational self-talk originated, and offered strategies that players can use to improv...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss Roger Federer’s recent commencement address at Dartmouth College. His address included three “lessons” which are: 1) “effortless” is a myth, 2) it’s only a point, and 3) life is bigger than the court. The co-hosts examine how these three “lessons” relate to various sport psychology themes that tennis players can apply to their games. Tennis IQ Patreon Page: ...

In this episode, Brian and Josh were joined by Rick Macci, and their conversation touched on a number of topics related to sport psychology and the mental aspect of tennis. Over the past 40 years, Rick Macci has had the distinction of having trained and worked with a “Who’s Who” of tennis players including Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova, Jennifer Capriati, Mary Pier...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss their thoughts on the 2024 French Open (Roland-Garros). They review Iga Świątek's performance in the tournament which culminated with a 6-2 6-1 victory in the women's championship match over Jasmine Paolini. Additionally, the co-hosts talked about Carlos Alcaraz’s win in the men's final over Alexander Zverev 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-2. They also address...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the concept of creating and using a “mental scorecard”. This concept is popular in golf. and the co-hosts discuss how tennis players can apply it to their own games. By using a mental scorecard, players can remind themselves of the main controllable factors that they’re trying to focus on, and can also hold themselves accountable about following through with...

"Never confuse yourself by visions of an entire lifetime at once. That is, do not let your thoughts range over the whole multitude and variety of the misfortunes that may befall you, but rather, as you encounter each one, ask yourself, ‘What is there unendurable, so insupportable, in this?’ You will find that you are ashamed to admit defeat. Again, remember that it is not the weight of the fu...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discussed the role of identity and self-image on tennis and performance. The co-hosts examined the connection between identity, behavior and feelings, and differentiated between two pathways and the consequences of each. The two pathways are 1) starting with developing our identity which leads to certain behaviors and feelings vs. 2) starting with our feelings in a...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the “Stockdale Paradox” and how it relates to tennis. The co-hosts review the background of Jim Stockdale and consider whether they believe this “paradox” is in fact a paradox or not. They talk about the link between accepting reality and optimism, and the necessity for tennis players to be able to do both. Tennis IQ Patreon Page:  https://www.patreon.com/te...

Dave Bailey is the world’s leading expert in tennis movement and footwork, and the creator of The Bailey Method. In his professional career, Dave has spent over 30 years studying the footwork and movement patterns of the top tennis professionals, viewing more than 18,000 video clips of professional players in action – carefully observing and documenting their precise movements. Through this proces...

Relentlessness is a virtue that all tennis players should practice, and it is a virtue that Rafael Nadal (and others) has embodied throughout his playing career. Never giving up, and playing your game no matter the score are examples of relentlessness in action. In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss what it means to be relentless, the challenges to being this way in matches, and some tips to coa...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the transition from an athlete-centered perspective to one of athlete ownership. This concept is particularly important for junior players as they strive to take more ownership of different aspects of their tennis journey while they progress. By taking more of an athlete ownership approach, young athletes learn to be responsible for their training, tournamen...

In tennis, there are a number of routines and rituals that players can use to bring out their best performances. However, not all players use routines as effectively as they could. In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss some of the challenges with using routines, and offer suggestions for how to commit to these important practices. Tennis IQ Patreon Page:  https://www.patreon.com/tennisiqpodcast/...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss what tennis players can do when nothing is working for them in a match. The co-hosts examine different strategies and tools that tennis players can use in these moments, and also consider broader mindsets and perspectives that can be helpful to apply in these situations. Topics discussed include going back to a player’s fundamentals, targeting an opponent&#3...

Ryan Harrison is a former professional tennis player and Head Coach at Harrison Tennis Academy. With a playing career spanning over 15 years on the ATP Tour, Ryan Harrison stands as a Grand Slam Champion, clinching the Roland Garros men’s doubles title in 2017 with Michael Venus. His journey in professional tennis has seen him reach a career-best singles ranking of No. 40 in the world and No. 16 i...

Dr. Cathy Utzschneider is the founder of the coaching practice, MOVE! - a method of goal achievement that helps all kinds of coaches and executives assist others with their goals. Cathy's 25 years of experience as a national- and world-class masters athlete, as well as her doctoral dissertation on goal achievement and excellence, support the method. A certification program for the MOVE! method...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss different aspects of motivation relative to self-determination theory, and how tennis players can be clear about what motivates them in terms of competence, autonomy, and relatedness (basic psychological needs). They also examine how people are generally motivated by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, rather than being wholly intrinsically or...

It's commonly believed that tennis players learn more from their losses than their wins. But is that actually true? In this episode, Josh and Brian highlight the benefits of studying your wins and your best performances. Don't take those successes for granted; learn to replicate them. Tennis IQ Patreon Page:  https://www.patreon.com/tennisiqpodcast/membership To learn more about Josh and B...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discussed how tennis players can be experiments and students on their tennis journey. The co-hosts examined the ways that tennis players can benefit by experimenting more, and how experimenting rather than committing to changing/fixing things tends to be easier because it doesn’t present a permanent change. This protects the player’s identity and doesn’t threaten th...

Before a match begins, everyone wants to win, but maintaining that desire throughout the match is not easy. Similarly, we all want to play to win during a match, but that has its own challenges. In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the relationship between the "desire to win" and "playing to win," and the challenges associated with each. Tennis IQ Patreon Page:  https://www....

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss various sport psychology themes from the Netflix movie Hustle. The movie stars Adam Sandler as a NBA scout who identifies a talented basketball player from Spain, and then brings him to the United States. The movie includes various themes related to mental performance including work ethic needed to get to the next level, the improvement and development proce...

The 2024 Australian Open has wrapped up with Aryna Sabalenka winning the women’s singles title over Zheng Qinwen 6–3, 6-2, and Jannik Sinner winning the men’s singles title over Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the finals of the women’s and men’s singles championships, review the performances of other top players, and comment on mental performance th...

Ryan Redondo is CEO/GM of Youth Tennis San Diego and the Barnes Tennis Center, as well as Tournament Director of the San Diego Open WTA 500. He comes from a long tradition of tennis players in his family, and he is a former college and professional player. After his playing career, he went into coaching, both privately and at the collegiate level. He joined the Barnes Tennis Center as CEO in May o...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the different contexts that tennis can be understood as a team sport. They discussed three main situations in this episode. First, they talked about situations where training is done as a team which includes in academies, high school teams, college teams, and adult league teams. Next, they discussed the roles within a performance team and the important suppo...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss common self-limiting beliefs that tennis players often hold, and approaches that players can take to address and change these beliefs over time. The co-hosts talk about the importance of awareness of self-talk, the benefits of journaling, and detail the process that tennis players can go about to adjust and improve their self-limiting beliefs. Tennis IQ Patr...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the top things they learned from 2023 and their top takeaways from the year. These include tennis-specific learnings and takeaways from 2023, as well as general lessons from the past year. They also announced a special event on December 28th at 8 pm EST / 5pm PST. This event will include an "Ask Me Anything" session with the co-hosts as well as a d...