We fight an countless amount of external forces when playing a match or competition. But our biggest enemy is non-other than YOU! 

Momentum:

How a game/match sways can be out of your control at times and it can change at any-time, due to; tactical change, external factors of some sort, or that voice inside which question’s your ability.

Awareness:

Be aware of any tactical change and adapt to it and try to focus on your breathing to stop any external distraction. One thing you must never do is question your ability! If you’re able to do it in practice, you can replicate it at any given situation. I watch players lose momentum and at times that slight shift can turn the whole match around from a winning position to a losing one. Being a massive Roger Federer fan I’ve learnt that he has one attribute that sets him apart from everyone.

GRIT 

Watching him play over the years I’ve never seen him question his ability. He went through a 5 year period where he hardly won (some expert’s believed his time had come to an end due to age) but he never doubted himself. I also began to doubt his ability to compete at the top and in fact, thought it was game over when he had a knee operation and was unable to compete for 6 months.

Then I saw Roger uploading videos of himself training and expressing his hunger and ‘will’ to make a come back at 35 years young. Federer won the Australian open and three days ago another tennis title. 

Federer, if you watch him play never questions his ability regardless of his opponent, crowd or scoreboard. Due to his personal confidence, he has achieved more than any other tennis player in history and is aiming to become no.1 once again.

“While the match is still alive, I can win”

In Roger’s words.. if I’m behind on the scoreboard, it becomes irrelevant! “while the match is still alive, I can win”.

Please note: any spelling or grammatical errors are due to limited revision time and in due time corrections are made.

Written by Eli Baraty

eBaTT (Eli Baraty Academy of Table Tennis)
Coach Me Table Tennis
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