Watch a professional tennis match with the sound off and you’ll see two matches happening at once. One is the visible one: serves, rallies, the scoreboard. The other happens in the 25 seconds between points, inside each player’s head. At the top of the game, that second match often decides the first.
I’m Aanant Bisht, and I work with elite athletes on the part of performance that doesn’t show up in the highlights. My motto is “I make winners win more,” and in tennis, one of the quickest ways to do that is to change the conversation a player has with themselves between points.
Tennis self-talk is more than positive thinking
Most advice on tennis self-talk stops at “be positive” and “one point at a time.” That advice isn’t wrong. Coaching bodies such as the USTA teach between-point routines built on responding, recovering, refocusing and getting ready, and research on instructional self-talk in tennis has found that short, task-focused cue words can improve stroke performance.
But players ranked around 50 to 70 in the world already know all of this. They have routines. They bounce the ball the same number of times. They still tighten up at 4-4, 30-40. Why?
Because the words they say out loud are only the surface. Underneath sits a much older, faster inner conversation, built over years of matches, that speaks before the conscious cue word does. That’s the subconscious layer, and it’s where the real work is.
The three inner conversations every tennis player has
1. The judge
“That was a terrible forehand. You always miss that ball when it matters.” The judge reviews the last point and passes a verdict on who you are. It feels like accountability, but it pulls your attention backwards, and your body plays the next point carrying the verdict.
2. The forecaster
“If I drop this game, I’m serving to stay in the set.” The forecaster lives in the future. It’s busy with scenarios, rankings points and what the coach will say afterwards. Every second spent forecasting is a second not spent preparing the next ball.
3. The competitor
“Big serve wide, attack the short ball.” The competitor speaks in the present tense and in simple instructions. It doesn’t argue with the score; it chooses the next action.
Every player has all three voices. Top-10 players aren’t free of the judge and the forecaster. They’ve trained the competitor to be the loudest voice at the moment the ball is in play.
Why the subconscious beats your cue words under pressure
Your conscious mind is slow and has limited space. Your subconscious is fast and runs on what it has rehearsed the most. Under low pressure, a cue word like “legs” or “watch the ball” can steer you. Under high pressure, the subconscious goes back to its most practised script, and for many players that script is the judge.
So a player can say “come on, next point” out loud while their inner voice is saying “here we go again.” The body listens to the second one.
That’s why simply adding more positive phrases rarely changes results at the top level. The aim is to rewrite the default script so that, when pressure removes conscious control, what’s left is the competitor.
A practical method to rewrite your inner conversation
Step 1: Record the real script
After practice matches, write down, word for word, what you said to yourself after errors and at tight scores. Don’t clean it up. Most players are surprised by how harsh and repetitive it is. You can’t rewrite a script you haven’t read.
Step 2: Name the voice, then answer it
When the judge speaks, label it: “That’s the judge.” Then answer with one competitor sentence: “Next serve, body, then forehand.” Labelling creates a small gap between you and the thought, and that gap is where the choice lives.
Step 3: Build a 25-second inner routine
Professional players have roughly 25 seconds between points. Use it in the same order every time:
- Release: one breath out and a physical gesture, such as turning to your strings, that closes the last point.
- Reset: one sentence of identity, such as “I play big points freely.”
- Plan: serve or return plus one, decided clearly.
- Commit: a single cue word as you step to the line.
Step 4: Rehearse it in imagery, not just on court
See yourself, in first person, missing an easy ball at 5-5 in the tiebreak, then running the routine and playing the next point with full commitment. Rehearsing the recovery, not only the perfect shot, is what gives the subconscious a new default.
Step 5: Test it under manufactured pressure
Ask your coach to start practice sets at 4-4 or in tiebreaks with something real at stake. The inner conversation only changes when it’s practised in conditions that feel like the real thing.
What changes when the inner conversation changes
When the competitor becomes the default voice, players usually describe the same things: the court feels bigger, decisions get simpler and they stop waiting for the opponent to miss. They go after the ball in tight moments because nothing inside is arguing with them.
That’s the difference between knowing what to do on a big point and actually doing it.
Frequently asked questions
What should I say to myself between points in tennis?
Keep it short, present-tense and specific: one sentence to release the last point, one about who you are, and one clear plan for the next point. Avoid commentary on the score or on your own worth.
Is negative self-talk always bad?
Brief frustration is human and can even release tension. The damage comes when it turns into a verdict about who you are and follows you into the next point.
How long before new self-talk becomes automatic?
It depends on how deeply the old script is practised. Daily rehearsal off court plus deliberate use in pressure practice usually makes the difference over weeks and months, not days.
Does this work for doubles or other sports?
Yes. The same inner conversations show up for golfers between shots and cricketers between deliveries. Only the time windows and routines change.
Win the match between the points
If you’re inside the top 100 and you keep losing the tight sets you know you should win, the gap is probably not in your forehand. It’s in the 25 seconds before it.
See how The Orbits works privately with elite players, and when you’re ready, apply through our application form to start the conversation.