Tennis IQ Podcast

In this second episode on Motivational Interviewing (MI), Brian and Josh discuss the acronym RULE which stands for resist the righting reflex, understand the patient’s own motivations, listen with empathy, and empower the person. The co-hosts review how these four guidelines can be helpful for sport psychology practitioners, coaches, parents, and players.

To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis you can email us at [email protected]. If you’re enjoying the show please rate us on your favorite podcast platform including Apple Podcasts and Spotify and write a review. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes.

In this episode, Josh and Brian talk to Dr. Jim Afremow and Phil White about their new book, The Daily Champions Mind: 365 Days of Mental Toughness Training with the World's Greatest Athletes.

Jim Afremow, PhD, is a sport and performance psychologist, licensed professional counselor, and the bestselling author of The Champion’s Mind, The Champion’s Comeback, The Young Champion’s Mind, The Leader’s Mind, and The Creative’s Mind. His books have sold more than 225,000 copies in English editions domestically and have inspired athletes, coaches, and leaders across every field.

He has served as the staff mental coach for two Olympic teams (Greece Softball and India Field Hockey) and has worked with athletes in the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, PGA Tour, and UFC, as well as numerous Olympians. Jim has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, and ESPN. He lives in Eugene, Oregon, and works globally with athletes and high performers to help them champion the day.

Phil White is an Emmy-nominated writer, the coauthor of The Leader's Mind with Jim Afremow, and the co-host of The Basketball Strong Podcast with Tim DiFrancesco. Phil also cowrote Unplugged with Andy Galpin and Brian Mackenzie, Waterman 2.0 with Kelly Starrett, Game Changer with Fergus Connolly, and The 17 Hour Fast with Dr. Frank Merritt. He has written for many leading human performance brands, including Momentous, Onnit, TRX, XPT, TrainingPeaks, TrainHeroic, and FAST by Conor McGregor. Follow him on Instagram @PhilWhiteBooks.

To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis you can email us at [email protected]. If you’re enjoying the show please rate us on your favorite podcast platform including Apple Podcasts and Spotify and write a review. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes.

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss part one of a three part series on motivational interviewing (MI). In this first episode, they review the acronym OARS (Open ended questions, Affirmations, Reflections, Summarize) as a means of understanding a person's motivation to change. The co-hosts examine how sport psychology practitioners, coaches, parents, and others can use these skills in various situations as well as how people can use motivational interviewing strategies with themselves.

To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis you can email us at [email protected]. If you’re enjoying the show please rate us on your favorite podcast platform including Apple Podcasts and Spotify and write a review. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes.

Cindy Brinker Simmons is a Dallas-based businesswoman, philanthropist, author, and longtime leader in junior tennis. She is the daughter of legendary tennis champion Maureen “Little Mo” Connolly Brinker. Cindy was a nationally ranked junior player, ranked No. 1 in Texas in her age division. She attended the University of Virginia, where she was a four-year varsity tennis letter winner and team captain. She is President of the Maureen Connolly Brinker (MCB) Tennis Foundation, carrying forward her mother’s legacy through the “Little Mo” junior tournaments and programs in the U.S. and internationally.

Carol Weyman is the MCB Executive Vice President and Founder of the “Road to the Little Mo Nationals” which is a nationwide circuit for players ages 8-12 in the US. Carol joined the MCB Tennis Foundation in 1989. Previously, she worked for World Championship Tennis (WCT) and was Tournament Director of the Virginia Slims of Dallas.

Links:
https://mcbtennis.org/about-little-mo/
https://mcbtennis.org/about-maureen-connolly-brinker-tennis-foundation/
https://mcbtennis.org/former-little-mo-champions/

To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis you can email us at [email protected]. If you’re enjoying the show please rate us on your favorite podcast platform including Apple Podcasts and Spotify and write a review. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes.

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss four concentration exercises from the book Mindset: A Mental Guide for Sport by Jackie Reardon and Hans Dekkers. The co-hosts described the four exercises: feeling (internal + narrow focus), zooming (external + narrow focus), scanning (external + broad focus), and the serve exercise (switching between focus types), and their benefits for improving attention and concentration on the court.

To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis you can email us at [email protected]. If you’re enjoying the show please rate us on your favorite podcast platform including Apple Podcasts and Spotify and write a review. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes.

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the concept of fragility, and how tennis players can learn to become antifragile. Various Stoic principles connected to fragility are examined including controlling the controllables, anticipating and expecting difficulties, and not letting events and results become your identity. The co-hosts also review how tennis players can utilize various mental skills, strategies and new perspectives to become more resilient and eventually antifragile over time.

To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis you can email us at tennis[email protected]. If you’re enjoying the show please rate us on your favorite podcast platform including Apple Podcasts and Spotify and write a review. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes.

Whether it's UTR, WTN, NTRP, or some other rating system, it's likely that you believe you're a better player than the rating suggests. In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss this common belief and why players think that way. They also review how obsessing over ratings and rankings actually makes you a worse competitor.

To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis you can email us at tennis[email protected]. If you’re enjoying the show please rate us on your favorite podcast platform including Apple Podcasts and Spotify and write a review. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes.

Dr. Sue Jackson is a performance psychologist and leading expert in the psychology of flow – the state of deep focus and full absorption where people perform at their best and experience their work and life most fully.

She works with high performers across sport, business, medicine, and the arts, helping them access flow under pressure and turn stress into focus, clarity, and effective action.

Sue co-authored the influential book Flow in Sports with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the founder of flow theory, following her award-winning doctoral research into flow states in elite athletes. Since then, she has combined scientific research with practical psychological tools drawn from performance psychology, mindfulness, ACT, and extensive experience working in demanding real-world environments.

Her most recent book, Experiencing Flow: Life Beyond Boredom and Anxiety, translates this work into practical insights on how flow can be developed not only in elite sport, but across everyday performance contexts – helping people move beyond anxiety, distraction, and overthinking into greater focus, creativity, connection, and presence.

Today, Sue brings this research and applied experience to conversations about performance, wellbeing, and how we can design conditions for optimal experience in the moments that matter most. You can learn more about Sue and her work at www.drsuejackson.com.

Sue’s social links:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/drsuejackson
https://www.instagram.com/suejackson_flow/
https://www.facebook.com/drsuejacksonflow/

To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis you can email us at [email protected]. If you’re enjoying the show please rate us on your favorite podcast platform including Apple Podcasts and Spotify and write a review. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes.

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss how tennis players can generate more clutch moments in their matches. The co-hosts review research from multiple sports about the conditions that lead to a greater likelihood of clutch moments, and offer practical suggestions that players can use during pressure moments. Additionally, they describe various mental tools that players can use to help prepare for these moments including visualization/imagery and pre-performance routines.

Research article (Rising to the occasion: A qualitative investigation of clutch moments in sport.) - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10413200.2025.2535995#abstract

To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis you can email us at tennis[email protected]. If you’re enjoying the show please rate us on your favorite podcast platform including Apple Podcasts and Spotify and write a review. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes.

"Every time I lose, it's like the end of the world." This is what Mirra Andreeva said after losing the final in Madrid in May of this year. Josh and Brian discuss this quote from a psychological point of view. Although much of the discussion centers on Andreeva, she represents what a lot of players go through when they lose. Her subsequent victory at Roland Garros showed significant growth in her game, her emotional regulation, and her maturity.