Mental strength is just as critical as physical skill in tennis. This week intensifies the mental training component, focusing on mindfulness, emotional intelligence, confidence building, pressure management, and competitive resilience.
By Week 9, players have built a solid technical and tactical foundation. Now we focus intensively on the mental aspect of tennis, recognizing that mental strength is just as critical as physical skill in competitive play. This week intensifies the mental training component. Led by Marianne Paventy, players engage in exercises focusing on mindfulness, focus, stress management, emotional control, and using rituals under pressure. This prepares players to stay calm, reset after mistakes, maintain confidence, and develop resilience during intense competitive situations.
The mental aspect of tennis often determines outcomes at the highest levels of competition. Players with equivalent physical and technical skills are separated by their mental toughness, focus, and resilience. This week provides players with practical tools to manage their mental state during training and competition, helping them perform consistently under pressure and bounce back from challenges.
"Tennis is played with the body, but won with the mind. The player who masters their mental game gains an advantage that technical skill alone cannot match. Mental toughness is what turns potential into achievement." — Marianne Paventy, Mental Performance Coach
July 28-Aug 1, 2025
Monday-Friday, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Eagle Tennis Center, Courts 1-6
Each day focuses on a specific aspect of mental toughness and performance, building a complete mental toolkit for competitive play.
Develop the ability to remain fully present and engaged during competition, regardless of score, previous points, or match significance.
Develop awareness, understanding and mastery of emotions during competition to maintain optimal performance under pressure.
Build sustainable confidence and effective self-talk patterns that enhance performance and resilience during competition.
Develop systematic routines and pressure management strategies that create consistent performance under competitive stress.
Integrate all mental skills into a comprehensive approach for tournament preparation and competitive resilience.
Each day focuses on a specific aspect of mental toughness and focus development. Select a day to view the detailed training agenda.
Developing the ability to remain fully present and engaged during competition, regardless of score, previous points, or match significance. Build mindfulness skills that enhance focus, reduce anxiety, and improve performance under pressure by maintaining present-moment awareness.
One point at a time mentality
Managing focus amid distractions
Breath as anchor for attention
Extended mental skills session focusing on mindfulness and present-moment awareness.
Structured warm-up integrating mindfulness concepts, including breath-focused progressive hitting, present-moment awareness during movement patterns, and sensory-focused technical exercises.
Drills emphasizing present-moment awareness in technique.
Strategic application of mindfulness principles.
Brief competitive exercises focusing on present-moment application.
Mindful preparation for match play, including present-moment preparation techniques, establishing pre-match mindfulness routines, and breath-centered competitive readiness.
Coached match play with emphasis on mindfulness application.
Developing awareness, understanding and mastery of emotions during competition to maintain optimal performance under pressure. Build emotional intelligence skills that allow players to recognize, accept and effectively manage emotions during matches.
Recognizing emotional states
Managing intensity appropriately
Returning to optimal state
Extended mental skills session focusing on emotional intelligence and control.
Structured warm-up integrating emotional awareness, including body-emotion connection during movement, emotional check-ins during progressive hitting, and intentional emotional state shifts.
Drills emphasizing emotional awareness during technical execution.
Strategic application of emotional awareness.
Brief competitive exercises focusing on emotional intelligence.
Targeted preparation for emotionally intelligent match play, including emotional readiness assessment, anticipating emotional challenges, and establishing emotional awareness check-ins.
Coached match play with emphasis on emotional intelligence.
Developing sustainable confidence and effective self-talk patterns that enhance performance and resilience during competition. Build internal confidence sources and positive self-talk habits that withstand competitive pressures and support consistent performance.
Constructive internal dialogue
Building internal confidence
Maintaining belief through challenges
Extended mental skills session focusing on confidence and self-talk.
Structured warm-up integrating confidence concepts, including body language emphasis during movement, confidence-enhancing self-talk during warm-up, and progressive success-building hitting patterns.
Drills emphasizing confident technical execution.
Strategic application of confidence principles.
Brief competitive exercises focusing on confidence application.
Targeted preparation for confident match play, including personalized confidence routine development, confidence-enhancing visualization, and self-talk planning for upcoming matches.
Coached match play with emphasis on confidence and self-talk.
Developing systematic routines and pressure management strategies that create consistent performance under competitive stress. Build reliable performance routines and pressure coping skills that allow players to perform at their best regardless of score, stage, or stakes of the match.
Managing pressure situations
Consistent pre-performance systems
Tactical clarity under pressure
Extended mental skills session focusing on pressure management and routines.
Structured warm-up implementing performance routines, including serve and return routine practice, between-point routine rehearsal, and pressure response awareness during warm-up.
Drills emphasizing consistent technique during pressure situations.
Strategic approaches to pressure situations.
Brief competitive exercises focusing on pressure management.
Targeted preparation for pressure management in match play, including routine rehearsal and refinement, pressure situation anticipation, and pressure coping strategy selection.
Coached match play with emphasis on pressure management and routines.
Integrating all mental skills into a comprehensive approach for tournament preparation and competitive resilience. Develop mental toughness that encompasses mindfulness, emotional intelligence, confidence, and pressure management for peak tournament performance.
Combining all mental elements
Mental approach for competitions
Flexible mental response to challenges
Comprehensive mental skills session focusing on tournament preparation.
Structured warm-up implementing comprehensive mental approach, including mindfulness during movement preparation, emotional awareness and management during warm-up, confidence-building progressive hitting, and routine practice.
Individual development of mental performance plans, including personalized mental skills assessment, individual strength/growth area identification, and creation of competition mental checklist.
Extended tournament format with mental skills emphasis.
Reflection and integration to close the mental skills week.
By the end of this week, players will have developed comprehensive mental skills that enhance performance, create resilience, and enable consistent execution under pressure.
Mastered mindfulness techniques that enhance concentration, reduce performance anxiety, and maintain focus on the present moment regardless of match situation or external distractions.
Developed emotional awareness and regulation skills that allow for optimal performance across varying emotional intensities, including strategies to manage frustration, anxiety, and competitive excitement.
Built sustainable confidence sources and positive self-talk patterns that withstand competitive challenges, creating resilient belief systems based on process rather than just outcomes.
Established reliable performance routines and pressure coping mechanisms that enable consistent execution in high-stakes situations, including critical points, tiebreakers, and decisive moments.
In Week 10, we'll shift our focus to "Tournament Execution & Match Play" - applying all technical, tactical, physical, and mental skills developed throughout the program in intensive match play scenarios that replicate tournament conditions.
Get answers to common questions about Week 9 of our Junior Excellence program.
At the competitive level, mental skills are often the differentiating factor between players with similar technical abilities. Research suggests that in high-level competition, mental factors can account for up to 80% of success. Week 9 focuses exclusively on these crucial mental skills that enable players to consistently perform at their best under pressure, manage emotions effectively, and maintain focus regardless of match situations.
Absolutely! Mental skills are beneficial for players at all levels. While more advanced players may apply these skills in high-pressure tournament settings, younger or developing players learn foundational mental approaches that prevent many common issues like performance anxiety, emotional volatility, and concentration difficulties. These skills also transfer positively to academic and other life situations beyond tennis.
Week 9's mental training is designed to enhance all previously learned skills. Each daily practice integrates mental skills with technical execution and tactical decision-making. For example, players learn to maintain technical form under pressure, make confident tactical decisions, and implement consistent pre-performance routines that optimize technical delivery. This integration creates a complete player able to execute all aspects of their game when it matters most.
Marianne's approach combines sport psychology principles with practical on-court application specifically designed for tennis. Rather than only teaching mental concepts in classroom settings, her methods integrate mental skills directly into technical and tactical training through specialized drills, competitive simulations, and real-time coaching during match play. This integration ensures that mental skills become practical tools players can immediately apply in competition rather than abstract concepts.
Players typically experience some immediate benefits from mental training, such as improved focus in practice and greater awareness of emotional responses. However, like physical training, mental skills develop over time with consistent practice. Week 9 provides players with specific mental training exercises to continue practicing beyond the program. Most players report substantial improvements in competitive performance within 4-8 weeks of consistent mental skills practice, with continued refinement thereafter.