Carrie Jackson is a performance and mental training expert, a Certified Mental Performance Consultant, and the author of On Top of Your Game: Mental Skills to Maximize Your Athletic Performance. Her insights have been featured in multiple media outlets including Runner’s World, Outside Magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, and Huffington Post to name a few. She is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the mental and emotional challenges of recovering from in...
Apr 03, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 127
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss how discipline with good habits tend to decreases over time. The co-hosts review why this can happen to players, and suggest mindsets and mental tools that players can utilize to try to address this. Approaches discussed included journaling, self-talk, and utilizing a long-term development plan to track your progress. Tennis IQ Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/tennisiqpodcast/membership To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport ps...
Mar 28, 2023•41 min•Ep. 126
We are very excited to announce a new model of support for the Tennis IQ Podcast through Patreon along with some great benefits! Fan level - $3 per month Supporter level - $7 per month Champion level - $20 per month This support for the podcast is month-to-month and you can end your support at any time. The Fan level will have access to all episode transcripts starting in April of 2023. The Supporter level will have access to all transcripts, access to the quarterly book club on Zoom beginning i...
Mar 24, 2023•11 min
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss how tennis players can excel in tryout situations. These tryouts could include evaluations for high school, college, or club teams, and the experience can be similar to the increased pressures felt during important moments in matches. Topics examined include the impact of comparisons with other players, how to use breathing techniques and progressive muscle relaxation to release physical tension, and ways to keep things in perspective by focusing on long-t...
Mar 19, 2023•57 min•Ep. 125
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the psychological differences between practice and playing competitive matches. Often, players will report that they have a tougher time playing as well during matches as they do during practices, and the co-hosts consider reasons for that, and suggest tactics and mindsets that players can use during matches to help them perform better. Additionally, they talk about differences in intensity and effort between practice and matches, and review how players ca...
Mar 13, 2023•46 min•Ep. 124
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss developing body awareness via relaxation training. Many tennis players experience physical tightness while playing in matches and struggle to release the tension in their bodies. The co-hosts review strategies that tennis players can utilize to increase their relaxation and awareness in order to raise their chances of performing well. Tennis IQ Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/tennisiqpodcast/membership To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds...
Mar 05, 2023•46 min•Ep. 123
In this episode, Brian and Josh review Break Point, a recent documentary series on Netflix about the ATP and WTA tours. The co-hosts discussed multiple sport psychology themes that emerged throughout the series. These themes included the importance of building an effective team around a player, dealing with expectations, the importance of mental toughness on the professional tours, and “locker room power” - the intimidating presence of top players on tour. Tennis IQ Patreon Page: https://www.pat...
Feb 26, 2023•37 min•Ep. 122
In this episode, Brian and Josh answer a recent listener question about playing in the back draws of tournaments. The co-hosts discuss some of the main factors that cause players to withdraw from back draw and consolation matches. Additionally, they reviewed mindsets that tennis players can utilize before consolation matches as well as strategies and mental tools like self-talk and visualization that can be utilized during consolation matches. Tennis IQ Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/tenn...
Feb 19, 2023•37 min•Ep. 121
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss strategies that tennis players can utilize when they’re playing while tired or in pain. Strategies discussed include visualization methods, utilizing self-talk techniques, and planning out your response to various situations that could take place involving fatigue and pain. Tennis IQ Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/tennisiqpodcast/membership To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com an...
Feb 10, 2023•52 min•Ep. 120
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the 2023 Australian Open. Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to win the women's singles championship while Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsisipas 6-3, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) to win the men's singles championship. The co-hosts reviewed various sport psychology themes from the fortnight, and talked about how the finalists, champions, and a few other notable players exhibited certain mental qualities that helped them achieve success in the 2023 ...
Jan 30, 2023•51 min•Ep. 119
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the idea of approaching situations with a “beginner's mind”. This concept was discussed in depth in the book Zen and The Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel and involves an individual adopting the mindset of a beginner who is approaching an activity for the first time - with fresh eyes and without preconceived notions and biases. By adopting this mindset, tennis players can prioritize their learning rather than fixating on their results, be more accepting of ...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 118
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the Resonance Performance Model as a way for tennis players to increase self-awareness and improve aspects of their game. This episode touched on various themes from the book The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallwey and various past episodes of the podcast. Video about Inner Game of Golf from Tim Gallwey: https://youtu.be/fdTmyhdfvZ0 Past episodes of the Tennis IQ Podcast referenced in this episode: Ep. 14 - Sean Brawley And The Inner Game Ep. 21 - Jeff Gre...
Jan 22, 2023•40 min•Ep. 117
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the value of making good mistakes. The co-hosts reviewed what they mean by “good mistakes” and how they differ from “bad mistakes”, and talked about how tennis players should be accepting of mistakes and play to win rather than try to avoid missing and making mistakes. Furthermore, they considered how committing to a game plan and playing style leads to the “necessary experience” of making good mistakes in certain moments, which will lead to further learni...
Jan 14, 2023•47 min•Ep. 116
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss why tennis players should prioritize developing good character and make it an explicit goal of their training. Results such as winning, rankings, and ratings are often prioritized rather than character and skill development which can lead tennis players to cut corners and exhibit negative character traits and poor sporting behavior. By prioritizing positive character traits, tennis players give themselves a better chance to be trusted by their peers, coach...
Jan 05, 2023•43 min•Ep. 115
Widely regarded as one of the world’s preeminent tennis coaches and experts in the field of coaching education, Nick Saviano emphasizes the importance of approaching the game with joyous passion and a commitment to relentless growth. Nick has 46 years of world-class tennis experience—nine years playing on the ATP tour, followed by 37 years as a high-performance coach. Prior to this, he was a top US junior player, and an All-American and member of the NCAA Championship Team at Stanford University...
Dec 27, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 114
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the psychology of doubles. This topic was addressed in one of the first episodes of the podcast, episode 9, which focused mostly on communication patterns and teamwork in doubles. This episode focuses more on the mental barriers that doubles players face, such as not disappointing their partner, as well as how doubles players can be the best partner that they can be. Tennis IQ Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/tennisiqpodcast/membership To learn more a...
Dec 19, 2022•48 min•Ep. 113
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the dangers of being judgmental. Tennis players have the tendency to be judgmental about a number of different things when they are playing including of themselves and their level, their opponent’s level and playing style, weather conditions, missed shots, etc. The co-hosts introduced strategies that tennis players can utilize to help move past judgmental thoughts and self-talk including journaling about performances, embracing all situations with curiosit...
Dec 09, 2022•45 min•Ep. 112
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss how tennis players can prioritize learning and developing their game instead of just focusing on results. The co-hosts talked about how tennis players can take pressure off of themselves by focusing on being the best player they can be rather than focusing too much on results such as rankings, UTR ratings, etc. Additionally, they discussed how tennis players can analyze their matches in order to learn from wins and losses in a systematic way by reflecting ...
Dec 01, 2022•50 min•Ep. 111
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss tennis as a fighting sport and as a combat sport. This conversation was inspired by The Fighter’s Mind, a book by Sam Sheridan that outlines the mental demands of various combat sport athletes. The co-hosts outline how tennis is a battle between two (or four in doubles) people with a similar goal of winning a match and how they must utilize fighting/combat skills and mental strength to achieve their goals and be successful. Various themes are discussed inc...
Nov 24, 2022•53 min•Ep. 110
Brian Teacher is a former top professional tennis player and coach as well as the founder of the Full Court Tennis app. As a player, Brian won the 1980 Australian Open and had career highs of #7 in the world for singles and #5 in the world for doubles. He has coached top players including Andre Agassi, Greg Rusedski, Daniel Nestor and Max Mirnyi. In this conversation we discuss Brian’s playing and coaching background, as well as the Full Court Tennis app. The Full Court Tennis app is available o...
Nov 14, 2022•51 min•Ep. 109
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss how tennis players can utilize visualization as part of their overall training. Previously, in episode 18, the co-hosts reviewed on-court methods of using visualization, so in this episode the focus was on how visualization can be trained and utilized off-court by tennis players of all levels. Various strategies were discussed to build visualization skills including visualization with a tennis ball, writing out visualization scripts of match situations you...
Nov 06, 2022•49 min•Ep. 108
Max Newlon is the President of BrainCo USA. Max spent several years working in top hospitals conducting research on the impact of neuro-technology and mind-body approaches to wellbeing and performance. After graduating from Harvard Graduate School of Education, he joined BrainCo as a research scientist in 2016. Now he leads the US company towards its vision of unlocking human potential with brain-computer interface technology. Discount code for Tennis IQ Listeners: https://focuscalm.com/di...
Oct 29, 2022•59 min•Ep. 107
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss how tennis players can focus more on who they are becoming as a way to take pressure off of themselves. The co-hosts discuss moments when tennis players focus on who they were in the past (typically when coming back from injuries and slumps) as well as situations where tennis players tend to focus on who they are at the moment instead of focusing on the type of player that they’re trying to become. Strategies to reduce pressure were discussed including not...
Oct 22, 2022•41 min•Ep. 106
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss whether club players and juniors should emulate professional tennis players. Topics discussed include how to learn from watching pros play on television, developing better decision making in points, and learning from how pros handle their time between points. (Mentioned in the episode) - Patrick Mouratoglou recent video on the mental game - https://youtu.be/haGv3heQ0kU Tennis IQ Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/tennisiqpodcast/membership To learn more...
Oct 14, 2022•37 min•Ep. 105
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss self-compassion. Self-compassion is a process that tennis players can/should embrace during matches, practices, and throughout their tennis development. Topics discussed in this episode include: awareness/mindfulness, maintaining perspective during the countless ups and downs that tennis players face throughout their careers, and the inevitability of having to deal with missed shots and mistakes during matches. Resources and links mentioned in this episode...
Oct 07, 2022•52 min•Ep. 104
Mylène Steinhardt is a NASM & PPSC certified health coach who specializes in helping high-school and college tennis players make the cut by rounding out their off court training protocols - primarily through nutrition and strength training. The struggles that Mylène faced as a D2 college athlete have led her to find a passion in helping others work through or even avoid these same problems that keep athletes from reaching their full potential, not only on the court but in all aspects of life...
Oct 01, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 103
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the careers of Serena Williams and Roger Federer. Both players have recently announced their retirements from the sport and they are both consistently ranked among the greatest tennis players of all time. The co-hosts reflect on their legacies, the mental qualities that led to their greatness, and certain matches in their careers when they exemplified mental toughness, resilience, and perseverance. To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport...
Sep 22, 2022•45 min
In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the 2022 US Open. Iga Świątek defeated Ons Jabeur 6-2, 7-6(5) to win the women's singles championship while Carlos Alcaraz defeated Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 to win the men's singles championship. The co-hosts reviewed various sport psychology themes and talked about how the finalists and champions exhibited certain mental qualities that helped them achieve success in the 2022 US Open. Iga Świątek post-final press conference transcript: http://www....
Sep 14, 2022•51 min•Ep. 101
For this milestone episode, Brian and Josh answered various questions from listeners of the podcast and shared feedback from listeners in different parts of the world and tennis community. Additionally, they reflected on the origins of the Tennis IQ Podcast, discussed what it means to reach the 100th episode of the podcast, and talked about how athletes can move on and continue to grow after reaching and celebrating their milestones. Lastly, they introduced a program where listeners can help to ...
Sep 12, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 100
Dr. Natalie Durand-Bush is a sport psychology professor in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa. She specializes in mental skills training and assessment, mental health, and coaching psychology. As a Mental Performance Consultant for the past 27 years, Natalie has helped athletes and coaches of all ages, sports, and levels achieve their performance and well-being goals. A relentless advocate for the field of sport psychology, she has co-founded and chaired the Canadian Sport ...
Sep 08, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 99
