Tennis IQ Podcast

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss an article from Fast Company, written by Kevin Lake and Dr. Michael Gervais , “The psychological pitfalls of tying self-worth and happiness to performance”. The co-hosts outline the main points from the article, talk about the benefits of establishing a purpose-based identity, and discuss the practical implications for tennis players. The article can be acce...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the lifestyle challenges of professional tennis players. This conversation is based on an article in the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology by Saul J. Shrom, Jennifer Cumming & Sarah-Jane Fenton titled “Lifestyle Challenges and Mental Health of Professional Tennis Players: an Exploratory Case Study”. The study analyzed current and for...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the importance of tolerance as a mental skill. This includes both physical tolerance (pain, withstanding physical training, playing in heat, etc.) as well as emotional tolerance. The co-hosts discuss how applying mental tools such as self-talk, visualization, and journaling can be helpful for building tolerance. Tennis IQ Patreon Page:  https://www.patreon.c...

In recent years, the concept of Grit has been popularized in performance contexts through the work of Angela Duckworth. But what is grit? How can you become grittier? Is this actually a useful concept for tennis? Josh and Brian discuss these questions and more so that you can take practical steps toward developing a healthier brand of grit on and off the tennis court. Tennis IQ Patreon Page:  http...

Motivation is the driver of our energy and the source of our reward. It's not unusual for tennis players to experience issues with their motivation, and in this episode, Josh and Brian examine ways for players to strengthen their purpose and drive for playing tennis. Purpose, passion, and goals are a few of the topics discussed. Tennis IQ Patreon Page:  https://www.patreon.com/tennisiqpodcast/...

Matt Futterman is a staff writer at The Athletic where he covers tennis and Olympic sports. In addition to covering tennis, Matt delivered award-winning investigative reporting for The New York Times, writing a series in 2020 called “Sledhead” that examined the dangers that sliding sports, particularly bobsled and skeleton, pose to the brain. Matt has also covered seven Olympics, a role he will co...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss whether venting is an effective way to handle anger. They review research from Brad J. Bushman at Iowa State University on this topic and his paper “Does Venting Anger Feed or Extinguish the Flame? Catharsis, Rumination, Distraction, Anger, and Aggressive Responding”. The co-hosts examine whether this research and past research has demonstrated the effective...

Dr. Laura Swettenham is a sport and exercise psychologist from the UK, chartered with the British Psychological Society. She has experience working within a range of sports, predominantly professional football (soccer), youth tennis, and e-sports. In her practice, Laura uses acceptance and mindfulness approaches, such as acceptance and commitment therapy, to support athletes and coaches so they ca...

In this episode, Brian and Josh interview Jan Mühlfeit. Jan Mühlfeit is a global strategist, executive coach, and the author of the bestselling business book “The Positive Leader” (Pearson, Oct 2016, Jan Mühlfeit &; Melina Costi). His personal mission is “helping individuals, organizations and countries around the world to unlock their human potential”. Jan has a proven track record in buildin...

In the 150th episode of the podcast, Brian and Josh discuss how decision making on court can be improved through intentional decision training. The co-hosts reviewed a paper entitled “Effects of Decision Training on Decision Making and Performance in Young Tennis Players: An Applied Research” by Luis García-González, Alberto Moreno, Alexander Gil, M. Perla Moreno & Fernando Del Villar. Both Jo...

Kollman Gearhart is the founder and driving force behind the BTB Project (Built to Be Project), a dynamic podcast that empowers listeners to discover their purpose and live their best lives, regardless of circumstances. With a rich background as a former athlete and motivational coach, Kollman has dedicated the last two decades to inspiring thousands through his personal journey. His mission is cl...

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...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the 2023 U.S. Open where Coco Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, and Novak Djokovic defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 to win the women’s and men’s singles championships. The co-hosts discussed the champions and finalists from a sport psychology perspective, and also discussed other top players including Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz. Coco...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss a recent case study “Serving a Brief-Contact Cognitive Behavior Therapy Intervention” by Zoe Louise Moffat and Paul McCarthy of Glasgow Caledonian University. The co-hosts summarized the study findings and shared certain actionable takeaways for players. If you’d like to read the paper, please send us an email at TennisIQPodcast@gmail.com and we will send it...

Visualization has many uses for improving tennis performance, and in this episode, Brian and Josh review how visualization can aid and train better decision making on the court. Listen in for tips on how to create visualization plans and scripts that you can use for your game. Tennis IQ Patreon Page:  https://www.patreon.com/tennisiqpodcast/membership To learn more about Josh and Brian's backg...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the connection between a tennis player’s behavior and their performance. This conversation started with a quote from Frank Slootman, "Performance is something that we will give more time; behavior we won’t. And that’s because behavior is a choice, not a skill set.” The co-hosts discussed whether they believe that behavior is ultimately a choice, and tal...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the benefits of optimism for tennis players. The co-hosts start by defining the differences between optimism and pessimism, and also outline misconceptions surrounding these concepts. Topics reviewed include the performance benefits of optimism within a match, the benefits of being optimistic about one’s overall training and development, and the connection b...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss what tennis players can do when they feel that they're doing all the right things, but not getting the results that they desire. This could be occurring for a number of reasons, but often tennis players need to embrace that their results can at times lag behind the progress that they’re making. Topics discussed include the importance of patience, the imp...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. On the women’s side Marketa Vondrousova defeated Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4, and on the men’s side Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic 1–6, 7–6 (6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4. The co-hosts review various sport psychology themes relating to the champions and finalists including resilience, self-belief, emotional control, and consistency. Ten...

In this episode, Brian and Josh interviewed Dan McCain. Dan is an author and a former college coach and director who now serves as the Head Coach and Tennis Director at Cape Henry Racquet Club in Virginia Beach, VA. Dan has published six books on tennis on topics such as raising a champion, goal-setting, movement fundamentals, tactics, and strategy. As a player he had a stand out career as a junio...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss developing a process to reflect on and learn from matches. The co-hosts review various questions that tennis players can answer after their matches in order to process and learn from each match experience. These questions and exercises can be completed individually, or with a coach or parent. Tennis IQ Patreon Page:  https://www.patreon.com/tennisiqpodcast/m...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss quiet eye theory and gaze control as a means of helping players perform better physically and mentally. The discussion was based on three research studies (below) and the co-hosts reviewed practical applications of these concepts for tennis players. Research studies and videos mentioned: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233599263_Gaze_Control_DURING_...

In this episode, Brian and Josh review a research article entitled “Building A Psychological Profile of Olympic Medalists and World Champions” by Robert M. Nideffer, Ph. D., Jeffrey Bond, Alberto Cei, and Umberto Manili. The co-hosts discuss the research findings about the difference between athletes who have won multiple championships and those who were single championship winners, and then consi...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the 2023 French Open. On the women’s side Iga Świątek defeated Karolína Muchová 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 to win the women’s singles championship, and on the men’s side Novak Djokovic defeated Casper Ruud 7-6(1), 6-3, 7-5. The co-hosts review various sport psychology themes relating to the champions including the “locker room power” of Świątek and Djokovic, as well as t...

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the various challenges of changing surfaces. In a comparable way to how professional players change surfaces throughout the tournament season, non-professional adult and junior players have to handle similar situations. Examples of these sorts of changes include switching from hard courts to clay courts (or vice versa), playing on a grass court for the first...