Secrets of Playing When You're Tired

They say what separates the brave from the timid is that the brave are courageous just a few seconds longer.

What separates world class tennis players from merely good ones is not that they don't get tired – they just learn how to play while tired in such a way that it doesn't drastically affect their game.

When you get tired, all sorts of bad things can you happen to your game, if you let it. You lose focus, which means you start making errors that you otherwise wouldn't. You become more easily agitated, to the point where the game is no longer fun. Finally, you limit your chance to see the bigger picture of the game, and end up focusing what's left of your energy on the wrong things.

If you don't learn how to play through your tiredness, then there will always be a limit on your ability to improve your tennis game.

Fortunately, there are three secrets you can use that will help you stay on top of your game, even when you're tired.

To learn these three secrets, click here.

Are You Tired Or...?

The first way to play through fatigue is to trick your mind. Actually, sometimes you are not fatigued at all, but only think you are. In either case, you can distract your mind from focusing on your fatigue, and use its resources to focus on something else.

Next time you feel tired when playing, start asking yourself these questions:

Am I really tired... or am I just extremely calm right now?

Am I really tired... or am I just saving up my energy for the next point?

Am I really tired... or am I just a little droopy?

Am I really tired... or am I just recharging?

If you don't allow the word tired to even enter your mind, you won't feel tired. Anytime you hear your brain telling you you're tired, make sure to check if you really are tired, or if you're just misreading your body's signals. By slightly changing your word associations, your feelings can take on whole new meanings.

Reframe the Feeling

The reason many people can't play through fatigue is because they associate too much pain with playing through their tiredness. If that's the case, you'll never break out of this pattern. Instead, you have to get inside your head and unlink what you currently associate being tired to, so you can empower yourself to be more resourceful when you feel fatigued.

Ask yourself questions like these:

Was there ever a time I felt tired and still played great?

Are all tennis players unable to play through their fatigue?

What will my game be like if I never learn how to play when I'm tired?

You want to ask questions that make you look at the situation from new perspectives. The first question changes your focus so that you can see for yourself that it is possible to play through fatigue, because you've done it before. The second one allows you to focus on others, who have also learned how to do it! The third allows you to focus on the larger picture by giving you a more universal perspective.

All of these things enlarge your possibilities, which will help you be more resourceful for looking – and finding a solution.

Supercharge Your Physiology

Our physiology plays are large part in how we feel. You ever see a depressed person standing straight up, maintaining strong eye contact and looking comfortable? Have you ever seen someone who was completely focused leaning back, slumping, with their hands behind their head?

When you're tired, you assume a certain physiology. Change your physiology, and you change your feeling of being tired. This is a perfect technique for getting a few more key moments of power.