Smart Tennis: How to Play and Win the Mental Game (Smart Sport Series) [Paperback]

John F. Murray (Author)

Book Description

Series: Smart Sport Series | Publication Date: March 3, 1999

"The game with yourself is often tougher than the battle against any opponent. Smart Tennis shows you how to win the inner match while having fun along the way."--Lindsay Davenport, world's #1 ranked player for 1998

Become a More Competent-and Confident-Tennis Player

Smart Tennis is the secret weapon that tucks right into your tennis bag. Apply these proven principles of sport psychology to your game and gain a winning advantage both on and off the courts.

"Smart Tennis is a must for players at all levels-from beginners to Wimbledon champions! An outstanding book for understanding and improving your mental game."--Vic Braden, tennis telecaster and researcher

"If you ever want to use the title of this book to describe how you played your last match, then Smart Tennis is for you."--David Higdon, senior writer,Tennis Magazine

"This is an excellent book of psychological skills that can be immediately applied on the tennis court."--E. Paul Roetert, Ph.D., Administration of Sports Science, United States Tennis Association

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you ever want to use the title of this book to describe how you played your last match, then Smart Tennis is for you." --David Higdon, senior writer, Tennis Magazine

"The finest book on the mental side of the game he has ever seen ... and I've seen most of them." --Ron Waite, teaching professional and pro tennis photographer

"Smart Tennis is a must for players at all levels-from beginners to Wimbledon champions! An outstanding book for understanding and improving your mental game." --Vic Braden, tennis telecaster and researcher

"The game with yourself is often tougher than the battle against any opponent. Smart Tennis shows you how to win the inner match while having fun along the way." --Lindsay Davenport

"This is an excellent book of psychological skills that can be immediately applied on the tennis court." --E. Paul Roetert, Ph.D., Administration of Sports Science, United States Tennis Association

"John offered a practical approach in developing our player's mental skills which are required in today's competitive collegiate game. His expert knowledge of the game enabled him to not only relate well with the team, buthe provided insight and simple solutions for building mental toughness." --Cari Groce, head coach, tennis, Washington State University

"Today's competitive tennis players are always looking for an edge. In John's book he provides this edge through examining the many psychological aspects of competition at all levels. He articulately offers insight andsimple solutions for building mental toughness." --Cari Groce, head coach, tennis, Washington State University

"If your goal is to improve your tennis game, or any other sport you play, then this book is a must buy, read, study and use book. If your goal is to succeed in business then learning and using the techniques in Smart Tennis is also a must" --Bill Foster, president, Foster Consulting Group

"This book belongs on the list of essentials -- with the extra shirts, socks, sweatbands, racquets, shoes and towels -- for the the tennis bag of any serious student of the game." --Lawrence Jeziak, correspondent for Tennis Week

"John Murray has come out with a smartly written book for all levels of players who want to improve both on and off the court. Be smart...read it" --Desmond Oon, USPTA Master Professional, author of "Can Eastern Wisdom Improve Your Tennis?"

"The new book Smart Tennis is an outstanding book for players and coaches who are trying to play and win the mental game." --TennisPro Magazine

"Smart Tennis gives some excellent advice on the mental side of tennis! --Ace - Britain's Biggest Tennis Magazine

"John Murray continues to produce cutting edge material on the mental side of the game. My expectation is that 20 years from now we will all regard John as one of the most influential tennis psychologists in the history of the sport." --Cliff Kurtzman, editor-in-chief, Tennis Server

"Always losing to players you think you should be beating? If so, then you need Smart Tennis to help you develop the mental skills to be a winner!" --Rob Cornell, coaching co-ordinator, Melbourne Park Tennis, home of the Australian Open; ex-regional director for Peter Burwash International

"Although all of the chapters of Smart Tennis are excellent, I especially liked the chapter on confidence." --Charlie Garfinkel, Racket sports columnist; world's former #1 ranked racketball player

From the Inside Flap

"The game with yourself is often tougher than the battle against any opponent. Smart Tennis shows you how to win the inner match while having fun along the way."-Lindsay Davenport, world's #1 ranked player for 1998Become a More Competent-and Confident-Tennis PlayerSmart Tennis is the secret weapon that tucks right into your tennis bag. Apply these proven principles of sport psychology to your game and gain a winning advantage both on and off the courts."Smart Tennis is a must for players at all levels-from beginners to Wimbledon champions! An outstanding book for understanding and improving your mental game."-Vic Braden, tennis telecaster and researcher"If you ever want to use the title of this book to describe how you played your last match, then Smart Tennis is for you."-David Higdon, senior writer, Tennis Magazine"This is an excellent book of psychological skills that can be immediately applied on the tennis court."-E. Paul Roetert, Ph.D., Administration of Sports Science, United States Tennis Association

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (March 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787943800
• ISBN-13: 978-0787943806
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Tennis
  • #47 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Racket Sports
  • #75 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > Sports Psychology

More About the Author

John F Murray (1961-Present) grew up in South Florida, studied psychology at Loyola University New Orleans, and coached tennis on four continents for most of the 1980s. Convinced about the value of the mental game but dismayed by the paucity of resources, he returned to America in 1991 to become a clinical and sports psychologist, earning two masters degrees and a PhD at the University of Florida, completing a sports psychology internship and post-doc, and becoming a rare and truly legitimate sports psychologist. Dr. Murray contributes to media almost daily to inspire about the value of psychology in sports, business and life. He has worked to enhance performance with pro athletes and teams in most sports including trips to the Beijing Olympics, Australian Open tennis championships, UFC 100 in Las Vegas, and annual workshops since 2001 before the Wimbledon Championships in London. His clients include NFL quarterbacks, NHL hockey players, golfers, tennis players and those just seeking help with clinical issues. His first book, "Smart Tennis: How to Play and Win the Mental Game" (Jossey-Bass/John Wiley, 1999) is still on shelves worldwide, and his second major book "The Mental Performance Index: Ranking the Best Teams in Super Bowl History" (World Audience, 2011) was released in February of this year. Murray's office is in Palm Beach, Florida and his website is at johnfmurray.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mental equipment is truly important, November 6, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Smart Tennis: How to Play and Win the Mental Game (Smart Sport Series) (Paperback)

Mr. Murray does an excellent job of proving that "mental equipment" is helpful and beneficial to your game. I truly believe that you can't operate to your fullest physically without aid from the mental side of the game. The only thing that I was less than satisfied with is that he dedicates majority of his book to illustrate how mental equipment is important, but offers little assistance in improving your mental equipment. He uses excellent examples and truly illustrates his point clearly and directly. As for tips on how to improve your mental equipment, he has only offered about 1-2 pages worth of advice. For example, he spends 32 out of 34 pages of the chapter on attentional control, explaining the different types of attentional control, the problems with attention (such as:excessive stress, choking, etc.), and also explains how having selective attention and concentration is highly useful. He goes on to tell you the optimal effects of stress on attention. The only problem with all this is that after illustrating all the problems, and explaining where you need to be in terms of attention control, he offeres little advice to explain how to achieve the optimal attention control. In fact, only 2 pages out of 34 were actual advice on how to improve attention control and find that state of effortless effort commonly called the "zone" by tennis players. But, one must give Mr. Murray credit for writing a book on the mental game as very few books are written on this subject effectively. Afterall, isn't the human mind very complex? My suggestion is to buy the book if you want to learn about his philosophy on the mental game of tennis, but if you want advice on how to improve the mental game, then you might be slightly disappointed unless your satisfied with the 2 pages of every chapter dedicated to specific tips for improving.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thorough, thought and action provoking, March 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Smart Tennis: How to Play and Win the Mental Game (Smart Sport Series) (Paperback)

The book starts with a test to help you determine where you have the largest opportunity for improvement, then each chapter covers a specific need area. The book helped me immediately in a match and I hadn't even finished the book. However, I'm having difficulty with the goal setting area as the writer recommends making goals that are measurable (i.e. % of 1st serves in). For me, I don't have a way to measure the starting point or the matches after. Otherwise, it is extremely helpful & I'm determined to find a way to measure these things.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Integrated and On-Target, March 26, 1999

By 

[e-mail]; Larry Hall (Mt. View, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smart Tennis: How to Play and Win the Mental Game (Smart Sport Series) (Paperback)

Smart Tennis is the best explanation of mind-body factors in sport that I have read. Murray's knowledge of the tennis player's experience is exceptional. He provides a coherent and flexible set of suggestions that fits different court personalities and help players improve. A great book...