I’ve been thinking about getting back into playing tennis, matches, and tournaments now that I’m transitioning into sport and performance psychology. The last few years I have barely played as I have managed my coaching, management, and now grad school, teaching, and research responsibilities.

And along with it comes the worry, What will people think of me if I lose a match? How will my readers and people who know the brand react if they see that I’ve lost a match 1–6, 2–6? Will they think that “I can’t trust this guy because he’s losing matches.” Will they think that, “Applied sport psychology clearly doesn’t work.”

My worries are: “Are they going to no longer view me as a competent applied sport psychology resource?"

This is a classic threat appraisal, if seen through the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat (Blascovich, 2008). According to this model, individuals see upcoming tasks or competitions through a model of threat or challenge. The demands of the task are assessed, and then an assessment is made on whether or not the individual has the required resources to meet those demands. Based upon that, the threat or challenge appraisal is made.

And, most importantly, those who make the assessment that they have the resources to meet the upcoming demands, tend to perform better; there are more adaptive psychophysiological reactions and also visuomotor reactions to a challenge appraisal compared to a threat appraisal.

In other words, your body tends to react in a more composed way (lower heartbeat variability and somatic experience of anxiety) and your attentional control systems allow you to focus in on top-down, goal related stimuli. Put in even simpler terms, you are better able to focus on the things that will lead to better performance as opposed to getting distracted by irrelevant stimuli, both internal and external.

Why am I telling you all this psychological, scientific jargon?

Because I hope you can see how it applies to your tennis as well!

But, here’s the thing, it’s not as easy as saying, "See things as a challenge—not a threat— as some tennis coaches turned mental-gurus would have you believe. It’s actually about changing the balance between your appraisal of demands and resources. Vine et al. (2013) studied this in final year medical students. They used a Demand Resource Evaluation Score (DRES), which is a custom-made questionnaire that contrasted an individual’s thoughts on how demanding the task was compared to their perception of their ability to meet those demands.

I’m simplifying the study design and results a little bit, but what do you think they found? That higher DRES scores (or perception of ability to meet demands) resulted in better performances in a surgical training task that had been set up for the 52 individuals in the study.

Those who believe they have the resources to meet the demands of the task tend to perform better. They show more adaptive psychophysiological responses and more effective attentional control skills under pressure. Put another way, your body stays calmer, and your focus stays on what matters for performance, and you’re less likely to get derailed by distractions and irrelevant thoughts.

If you want to perform better under pressure, don’t just tell yourself to, “see it as a challenge,” or “Come on! Don’t be so threatened by it.”

That’s like telling someone the questionable advice of “just stay positive.” It rarely works.

Instead, look at the balance of demands and resources in your own skillset. Really break things down and 1) reduce the demands for yourself. Reframe the importance of the match: is it really going to mean your life is coming to an end? Is the psychological and physiological reaction you’re having truly warranted?

We’re basically trying to lower the consequences of losing. Don’t forget to set specific goals for processes that you want to follow, too.

Next, increase your resources! Prepare better! Train your routines. Actually, practice mindfulness for the required 12-minutes per day. Don’t treat mental skills as something you try to utilize in-case-of-emergency. Integrate them into your training and everyday life.

Build your skills on the court. Target your weaknesses with deliberate practice—don’t run from them. Build your aerobic base; increase your anaerobic output. Overprepare. Whatever works for you, focus in on it so that you’re heading into matches and competitive scenarios ready for battle.

Perhaps I could learn a thing or two from my own ad ice.

When you change the ratio—lowering demands, raising resources—you shift yourself toward a challenge state. Your body will stay calmer, and your brain can focus on the information that really matters. And this will allow you to play your best.

Disclaimer: I am not a licensed psychologist, mental health counselor, PsyD, or clinical PhD. I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology and am a sport psychology practitioner-in-training, working toward the Certified Mental Performance Consultant® (CMPC®) credential provided by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). My work focuses on applied, non-clinical mental performance consulting, using evidence-based techniques grounded in psychology, sport science, and applied sport psychology to help athletes enhance focus, manage pressure, build confidence, and improve performance. I do not provide mental health counseling or clinical therapy. When needed, I will always refer clients to licensed mental health professionals for concerns beyond the scope of performance consulting. I have over 20 years of experience in tennis, including as a player, collegiate and professional coach, and director of programs. I am certified by the Professional Tennis Registry and am a member of Tennis Australia. My goal is to bring athletes the best research-backed insights to support long-term development and performance. If you are a researcher or practitioner and feel I’ve misunderstood or misrepresented any concept, I welcome you to reach out, and I will gladly review and issue corrections if appropriate.

Blascovich, J. (2008). Challenge and threat. In A. J. Elliot (Ed.), Handbook of approach and avoidance motivation (pp. 431– 445). New York, NY: Psychology Press.

Vine, S. J., Freeman, P., Moore, L. J., Chandra-Ramanan, R., & Wilson, M. R. (2013). Evaluating stress as a challenge is associated with superior attentional control and motor skill performance: Testing the predictions of the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 19(3), 185–194. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034106