Tennis IQ Podcast

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 professional tennis player in his twenties, Jeff went on to earn Master’s Degrees in clinical and sport psychology. During this process, he discovered the fundamental principles of athletic performance which propelled him from a moderately successful tennis player to No. 1 in the world in his age group with two ITF world titles.

Interview Highlights:

2:05 - Jeff's introduction to the sport of tennis

4:22 - Overcoming adversity and Jeff's experience of leaving home and training at the Bollettieri Tennis Academy

5:44 - Jeff's college tennis experience and his transition to the professional tour

9:31 - The concept of "Fearless Tennis"

11:51 - Helping tennis players redirect their focus

14:37 - How can tennis players go from feeling tight to playing loose

20:30 - Helping players maximize their time in-between points and during changeovers through routines and mindfulness

26:28 - Developing pre-match routines to prepare for competition

29:52 - Utilizing a clinical background to aid with sport/performance psychology

33:34 - Accepting thoughts and feelings that arise during competition

36:20 - The importance of gratitude and the link between gratitude and performance

41:22 - Helping athletes understand that focusing on the process will ultimately lead to better results

45:58 - Figuring out your "recipe" for performing at your best

48:02 - Jeff's experiences utilizing sport/performance psychology tools on the court as he continues to compete

49:37 - How Jeff's experience as a competitor helps him identify with his clients

53:59 - How expectations and focusing on the outcome can lead to tightness on court

55:54 - Jeff's current focuses including his recent courses Fearless Tennis and Getting Tight

Book: The Best Tennis of Your Life: 50 Mental Strategies for Fearless Performance - https://www.amazon.com/Best-Tennis-Your-Life-Performance-ebook/dp/B00506VMWE/

Course: Fearless Tennis Online Training - https://fearlesstennis.com/online-tennis-mental-training-course/

Course: Getting Tight with Craig O'Shannessy - https://www.braingametennis.com/getting-tight-preview-opponent-awareness/?fbclid=IwAR2AhMisCLKK9jFqILirnCSAMPUtYg4sflr5opIwTOOFVvl-b6Gxs4eXA6Y

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. He played college tennis, is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), and a certified professional level coach through the US Professional Tennis Registry (USPTR).    

In addition to having worked in sport, Nikola transferred his expertise into sport organizations in Serbia, the United Nations (UN) and the Performing Arts industry. He served as a visiting performance and leadership consultant at Belgrade Sports Coaching Academy, UNICEF and as a Learning & Development and Performance Management coordinator for the UN agencies in the Netherlands. Nikola appeared on national television and is an international published author and presenter. He earned his BA degree in Psychology, and Theater Arts, from Clark University, and his EdM degree in Counseling, with focus on Sport Psychology, from Boston University.  

Interview highlights: 

2:56 - Nikola describes his introduction to the sport of tennis and overcoming performance anxiety 

7:51 - Nikola's journey to returning to tennis years after quitting the sport 

11:39 - How anxiety manifests itself in tennis, and how anxiety can be broken down into three pieces (emotional, mental and behavioral) 

25:49 - Focusing on WIN (what's important now) and the improvement process rather than just focusing on the outcome of winning matches 

33:52 - Staying "present" during competition 

40:01 - Integrating mental skills into practice and practice matches 

50:28 - How working in a variety of settings (theatre, the UN, etc.) has impacted Nikola's perspective as a sport and performance psychology professional 

58:00 - Having a "strengths based approach" and seeing people through a positive psychology perspective 

1:03:16 - Common obstacles that hold back elite junior and professional tennis players

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, and fans of tennis. Feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] with any books that you feel that we should add to our lists!

Josh's Top 5 Books:

Winning Ugly by Brad Gilbert

The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey

Heads-Up Baseball by Ken Ravizza and Tom Hanson

Life As Sport by Jonathan Fader

The New Toughness Training for Sports by James Loehr

Brian's Top 5 Books:

In Pursuit of Excellence by Terry Orlick

The Only Way to Win by James Loehr

Atomic Habits by James Clear

The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday

Tennis: Winning the Mental Match by Allen Fox

Bonus book for coaches: Coaching Athletes to Be Their Best: Motivational Interviewing in Sports by Stephen Rollnick, Jonathan Fader, Jeff Breckon, and Theresa B. Moyers.

A list of good sport and positive psychology books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/86517.Best_Positive_And_Sports_Psychology_Books

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, email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #tennisIQ on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes!

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 imagery can be trained on-court and how coaches can help tennis players utilize these skills on the practice court. Lastly, they discuss how these skills can be helpful for players to utilize while competing.

Links:

Novak Djokovic on visualization - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/turning-point/201509/champion-novak-djokovic-reveals-the-power-visualization

Bianca Andreescu on visualization - https://youtu.be/1kRjvvUmjAY

Inner Game of Tennis - Tennis Lesson - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieb1lmm9xHk

Using visualization to improve learning and performance - https://performancextra.com/training/using-visualization-to-improve-learning-and-performance/

Other ideas for using visualization - https://performancextra.com/50-for-50/50-50-ideas-13-14-15-visualization/

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, email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #tennisIQ on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes!

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, the importance of establishing a developmental plan and utilizing a training journal to track your progress is also discussed.

Links:

Webinar on goal setting: https://youtu.be/qew8TGcS1ps

USTA Developmental Plan: https://s3.amazonaws.com/ustaassets/assets/689/15/16777_c_ny_19_playerdevelopment_reformatresources_pd_developmentalplan.pdf

Francisco Montoya's talk on Developmental Plans and Goal Setting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edOFPk0Hdqo&feature=youtu.be

USTA Player Development Training Journal: https://s3.amazonaws.com/ustaassets/assets/689/15/player_development_journal_2020.pdf

A list of 50 ideas for improving your life: https://performancextra.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/50-for-50.pdf

The 50 for 50 blog series: https://performancextra.com/category/50-for-50/

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, email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #tennisIQ on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes!

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 several accomplished athletes in a wide variety of sports from professional and Olympic levels to high school and club teams. Outside of his practice, Dr. Walker is also the editor in chief of Podium Sports Journal, a well-respected sport psychology blog.

If you would like to receive Dr. Walker's FREE guide to getting Competition Ready, send him an email at [email protected]. Also, you can visit his website drstephenwalker.com

Interview highlights:

2:32 - Dr. Walker describes his background in sports and his introduction to the field of sport psychology

10:32 - The concept of Tennis IQ and being "in sync with your body"

15:40 - Mental preparation in sports

25:33 - The importance of positivity for athletes and parents

32:21 - Building a team and support system around tennis players and the importance of everyone understanding their roles in that team

34:47 - The importance of staying present rather than "time traveling" and future thinking

40:11 - Building confidence systematically through a confidence journal

52:54 - Process-based thinking rather than outcome-based thinking in pre-competition routines

1:01:27 - PETTLEP imagery while preparing for competition

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  “origin stories” - how they started playing tennis and were subsequently motivated to pursue the sport in a serious way.

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, email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #tennisIQ on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes!

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 numerous Inner Game of Tennis and Golf workshops in the past 20 years. In 1997, Sean helped Gallwey revise the tennis and golf books and in 2008 organized the first ever Inner Game coaching conference. In 2012, Sean co-founded the Inner Game School of Coaching with Gallwey and served as the lead facilitator. As a facilitator and coach, he has custom designed highly unique, experiential programs for many well-known organizations such as GE, ITT, Union Bank, the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and the U.S. Tennis Association. Sean was the primary mental coach for the USC football team for 9 years and helped Pete Carroll and the Trojans win 2 national championships.

Links:

Bounce-Hit - https://seanbrawley.mykajabi.com/single-greatest-exercise-for-tennis

Sean's TED Talk on the Power of Focus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QkHv7pKHBc&t

Sean's interviews with Wilson's top players (registration required) - https://wdt.wilson.com/w-club/

Interview highlights:

2:41 - Sean describes his introduction to tennis

9:00 - College tennis at USC and playing alongside top collegiate players

10:57 - Transitioning to the professional tour and travelling to play the Grand Slams and other tournaments around the world

15:44 - The pressures of competing as a professional tennis player

19:24 - Meeting and working with Tim Gallwey

25:50 - Teaching tennis based on the "Inner Game"

33:49 - Focusing on solely what's most critical to aid tennis development

34:51 - Bounce-Hit

41:55 - Identifying and focusing on the most critical aspects of any new skill while teaching and coaching

48:14 - The most common pitfalls and roadblocks that interfere with the "natural" learning process

52:28 - Mindfulness meditation and its impact on awareness

57:03 - The patterns and insights that emerged from interviewing Wilson's top players such as Roger Federer and Venus Williams on the "Inner Game"

1:11:20 - Working with USC Football

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 Professional of the Year in 1982, College Coach of the Year in 1989 (Vanderbilt), and Touring Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2002. He also received the George Bacso Lifetime Achievement Award from the USPTA in 2001.

Interview highlights:

2:43 - Bill describes his introduction to competing as a college tennis player and professional player, and how he started coaching college tennis

25:10 - The Evolution of a Champion - "Champions are not born. They are made."

27:58 - The importance of developing each part of the tennis game from a young age

33:53 - Bill describes his approach to coaching college teams and how he utilized different surfaces to help players develop their games

41:05 - Developing mental toughness within college tennis teams

42:10 - The Greatest Salesman in the World - Og Mandino

49:18 - Tennis as a proposed mandatory subject in schools

53:23 - The Winner's Creed

1:07:25 - Using tennis as a vehicle for personal growth

1:09:15 - Creating the Perfect Practice

Links:

The Winner's Creed: https://www.tennistakes.com/winners-creed/

Bill Tym's Coaching Philosophy - The Evolution of a Champion: https://performancextra.com/evolution-of-a-champion/

Creating the Perfect Practice: https://performancextra.com/bill-tyms-perfect-practice-formula/

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, we discuss the common links between the two champions and their ability to stay in the moment, even in the highest-pressure situations of a match.

Links to articles mentioned in this episode:

Profile and interview with Daria Abramowicz, Iga Swiatek's sport psychologist: https://www.wtatennis.com/news/1856382/how-swiatek-s-sports-psychologist-honed-her-mental-game

Nadal and Swiatek Stay in the Moment: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/sports/tennis/french-open-rafael-nadal-iga-swiatek.html

The Tao of Rafael Nadal: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/11/sports/tennis/french-open-rafael-nadal.html

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, email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #tennisIQ on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes!