One of my tennis coaches used to tell me to move through the ball when I was hitting it. Made sense, as it allows you to strike it more purely and with more force when you have forward momentum, keeps you proactive and it keeps you moving through the court toward the net.
So I started using "move through it" as a mantra I would tell myself on the court during matches to keep my feet moving and to remind myself to push forward.
After using that mantra for a while, I realized it means a lot more than, "move through the ball or court." It's one of the ultimate pieces of advice for a tennis player. It's a physical reminder, but it has big significance psychologically, too. It's a metaphor.
In tennis, as you know, mistakes and mishaps are going to happen. In fact, rarely does someone win a tennis match as much as they avoid losing it. So being able to overcome that easy put-away at the net, poor weather conditions, a frustrating opponent, that untimely double fault, a questionable call, or whatever else, is essential.
You have to be able to get over it, move on, move past it and "move through it" to succeed. To have the discipline to do that is the greatest talent a tennis player can possess--no matter what level we're talking about.
There could actually be no better mantra for a tennis player than "move through it." Move through the ball, the court and all the BS your mind is telling you.
They say NFL cornerbacks have to have a bad memory. If that's true, then tennis players have to damn near have Alzheimer's to forget their errors, keep working and shift the momentum into their favor.
You can't dwell. The past is the past. Coulda, woulda and shoulda are your enemies--punks whispering in your ear. You can't change what happened. You can only change what will happen moving forward.
And that starts with focusing on the point at hand. It's the only point that really matters. This point is the point. Craft a strategy for this point. What are you trying to accomplish? Focus on that.
TIP/TRICK: Sometimes to move through it you have shake yourself out of your current mental state. You'll see Serena Williams wave her hand in front of her face. Try that with a ball. Go touch the fence. Pinch yourself. Turn your hat around. Tie your shoes. Go to the net no matter what on the next point. Return a serve two feet from the service box. Start laughing like a maniac--smiling can physiologically change your state of mind. Do something different, anything, to snap yourself out of your negative mental momentum and "Move Through It."
Remember, move through the ball, move through the court, Move Through It!