Demystifying Mental Toughness16 Mai 2025

282 How To Help An Emotional Tennis Player Perform Better

In this episode, David Charlton and his colleague Colm O'Donoghue discussed a case study of a 12-year-old tennis player who struggled with her emotions on the court. She often became overwhelmed by with anger and frustration or disappointment after making mistakes or losing points, leading to a loss of focus, poor performance and less enjoyment. Her parents also found it very difficult to watch her play and contain themselves as a result too. David and Colm go on to offer some advice for managing these strong emotional responses so that she can perform better and enjoy her tennis more.

Key Learning Points:

· Improving her emotional regulation is key to her success and enjoyment.

· Find ways to focus on the present such as breathing techniques can be useful.

· David emphasizes the importance of consistent practice and viewing breathing as a life skill.

· Seeing the alignment of the parasympathetic nervous system as a vital component in playing your best by strategically finding ways to slow down can be helpful.

· Plan B thinking by using visualisation, where she sees herself making mistakes and feels the emotions that comes with this, then recovering more positively can help her improve her composure in difficult moments.

Connect with David Charlton

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

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Podcast Episodes To Help You Regulate Your Emotions

Ep071 - James Lau: Mastering The Mental Side Of Tennis

Ep232 – Andy Elleray - How To Remain Composed As a Goalkeeper Under Pressure

Ep256 – David Charlton - The Immature Brain: How To Help An Emotional Child

Other Valuable Resources To Help Children, Young Athletes, Parents and Youth Sport Coaches

Youth Sports Psychology Library

Conversations With Kids Ideas

Frequently Asked Questions - Sport Psychology for Children and Parents

Resources To Support Tennis Players Perform Better

How To Regain Momentum In Tennis So That You Win More Matches

How to Let Go of Mistakes when Playing Tennis

How Tennis Players Can Stay Confident Under Pressure

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Episoder(312)

312 Dr John Perry: How Sport Coaches Influence Mental Toughness

To end a recent series on the coach-athlete relationship, in this bonus episode of the Demystifying Mental Toughness Podcast, David Charlton is joined by Dr John Perry, Head of Department of PE and Sp...

3 Apr 50min

311 Learning Orientation: When Coaches and Athletes Think Differently

In this episode David concludes the eight-part series exploring the coach–athlete relationship by focusing on a powerful concept within the Challenge pillar of the 4Cs model of Mental Toughness, learn...

27 Mar 11min

310 Risk Orientation: When Coaches and Athletes Think Differently

Description Today, David Charlton explores another dynamic within the coach–athlete relationship: differences in risk orientation (a sub-measure of Mental Toughness). He discusses a common scenario ...

20 Mar 10min

309 Interpersonal Confidence: When Coaches and Athletes Think Differently

In this episode of the Demystifying Mental Toughness Podcast, David Charlton explores an often overlooked aspect of confidence in sport, interpersonal confidence. He discussed a common dynamic seen in...

13 Mar 8min

308 Confidence In Ability: When Coaches and Athletes Think Differently

Today, David Charlton explores a powerful but often misunderstood dynamic in sport: the highly confident coach working with an athlete who lacks confidence in their ability. At first glance, this com...

6 Mar 11min

307 Achievement Orientation: When Coaches and Athletes Think Differently

In part 4 of this mini-series, David Charlton explores a challenging but common sport dynamic: the high achievement-oriented athlete working with a low achievement-oriented coach. The athlete is orga...

27 Feb 10min

306 Goal Orientation: When Coaches and Athletes Think Differently

In this episode (part 3) of Demystifying Mental Toughness, David Charlton continues his solo series exploring the 4Cs of Mental Toughness through the coach–athlete relationship lens. The focus this w...

20 Feb 12min

305 Emotional Control: When Coaches and Athletes Think Differently

In this episode of Demystifying Mental Toughness, David Charlton continues in part two of his solo series exploring the 4Cs of Mental Toughness through the coach–athlete relationship lens. The focus ...

13 Feb 18min