Tennis is undoubtedly one of the sports that require the most mental strength., perhaps even more than physical strength. A continuous battle of nerves that often rewards elements such as head, lucidity and coldness even before talent.
Tomas Etcheverry, Argentine tennis player, addressed this topic in an interesting conversation with the ATP, which is doing well in this first part of the season. The current number 73 in the ranking has shown that he has his head on his shoulders and that his main objective is to keep his sanity on the pitch.
Here is his experience on this subject: “I have never broken or hit a racket in my life. My teachers instilled it in me. And I think the racket is not to blame,” he confessed, referring to this characteristic of players who fail to control their emotions by throwing or mistreating the racket when things don’t go their way. as they would like.
Etcheverry explains the secrets to not letting yourself be overwhelmed by emotions
Etcheverry gives the key to preventing this from happening: “The idea is to control yourself, to know what’s wrong. I don’t cry anymore and I can’t remember the last time I cried over a loss.
Now I get angry if I doubt myself at an important moment or think I could have done differently. Then I start to punish myself, but I quickly give up.” Then he continued: “There are negative thoughts that happen, it’s inevitable.
The key is the importance we give them. We must try not to blame ourselves too much, we do the best we can and that is enough. This is my path. There are other players who download rage. It’s about finding what’s best for you. » Finally, he concludes by saying that in his opinion, getting help from a personality like a psychologist is fundamental for him: “Mental health is very important in a sport where there are many pressures.
It’s good to be able to work on the mind because it is a very important weapon. Personally, it also helps me because I keep things. So I unload, I free myself, that’s the thing I appreciate the most.”
