You can’t be mentally tough without handling the routines in-between points properly. Player’s spend more time in a match dealing with their internal dialogue, than actually hitting a ball.

“A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t” - Jack Dempsey

It’s a hard thing to explain to someone if they haven’t gone through something incredibly difficult and challenging, and refused to back down. It can also seem like an unfair thing to explain to a young athlete, but it’s a necessary thing for them to learn.

“Most of our fears and most of our anxieties don’t exist in the present.”

There is zero upside to looking at the draw, and immense downside.

Tennis is the only sport in the world where you can win more points than your opponent and still lose.

“When people believe their basic qualities can be developed, failures may still hurt, but failures don’t define them. And if abilites can be expanded-if change and growth are possible-then there are still many paths to success.” - Carol Dweck “Mindset”

Every collegiate and professional tennis player I’ve met burnt out at some point. They wanted to succeed so bad and became so obsessed with getting better, that they pushed it to the limit. Where most players were satisfied with their level of improvement, the great ones kept on going. Sometimes, with no regard for the cost.

"Five minutes before entering the central office, I suddenly felt really bad, extremely nervous. I started to cry. I even had to go throw up a bit.” Stan Wawrinka discussing his emotions before walking on the court for the 2016 US Open final. He won the match and the title.

“People often practice what they know how to do rather than trying to master something they can’t yet do. Effective forms of practice are hard work and generally not fun.” - Dr. Anders Ericsson

The better a player’s technique, the smaller the probability of a shot breaking down under pressure. But the weaker a player’s mentality, the higher the probability they will break down under pressure, no matter what the technique.