1. Understand Your Injury (Eliminate The Ignorance And Gain Control): The first thing you need to do when getting a tennis injury is to immediately go see the  for an evaluation.

The Doctor?!?! Yea, and depending on the localization of your injury, it would be wise to even go to a specialist.

Yes, I know a lot of athletes (…and even regular people in general) hate going to see the man with the stethoscope in fear that they might be given bad news. They say, “I don’t want it to be something serious.”

You need to get over that fear, because for example “If it’s broken, and nobody tells you it’s broken, and it IS broken, how ill you know it’s broken?” – Bill Cosby You want to find out as much about your injury as possible and as early as possible.

This will (1) help you understand its severity and maybe even help you prevent such type of injury in the future – BIG PLUS! (2) You’ll also understand all the limitations and restrictions of your particular injury.

That’s why you’ll always see a guy like Laker’s center Andrew Bynum immediately head over for x-rays and an MRI immediately following – less than an hour after the injury is sustained. It’s super important for to get the diagnosis ASAP!

If you don’t know those things, you could unknowingly be doing something that could cause even more damage to the injured area.

And  lead to a situation in which you may not be able to play tennis ever again. OUCH, now that hurts!

Now, that’s the physical side. But the mental side also plays a HUGE part in this as well.

See, when we (…big pros included) don’t have a clue what’s going on with ourselves and our bodies, we always feel a bit apprehensive and nervous.

And let me tell you my friend, that alone can add a heap load of more pressure to you’re already stressed mind-state that you don’t want.

So, like the quote by Marie Curie, “Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” Once you get a better understanding of what the injury actually entails…

(…how long you’ll be out, the do’s and don’ts of an athlete with that kind of injury, what you should expect to see and feel during the rehab process, and the signs of worsening or improvement), these will greatly help you gain a better sense of control of the situation.  And you’ll be less anxious and not nearly as worried.

And thus, heal much quicker.

2. Open Up (…Tear Down Your Wall): A lot of tennis players struggle with this one. Many times, when injured, our first reaction is to close up and go into our shell like a turtle or put our face in the ground like an ostrich.

We don’t want anyone to see us “injured” because we think we’ll be looked at as weak. And no competitive player wants to feel pitied upon or looked at as the only one in the group that can’t survive. So, we completely shut down.

And how do we do that?

We go into complete and total isolation.  We remain indoors and don’t talk to anyone or see anyone until we’re fully healed. *Big Mistake*. All this does is make the recovery process more stressful.

Why do you think, for punishment in the prisons, they send the worst ones to what’s known as solitary confinement a.k.a the hole.

Nobody to talk to, nobody to interact with… It’s horrible. Many go crazy (…or at the very least develop severe mental issues) before the end of the first week. You don’t want to treat yourself like you’re a prisoner at San Quentin.

Because when you add that kind unnecessary stress and discomfort, it not only affects you mentally, but it can also cause the physical healing process to slow down.

So instead, open up.  Between your treatment and rest sessions, get out there and socialize. Interacting with your teammates will help lighten your mood, and you’ll be smiling a lot more. And we already covered how much smiling can help your confidence as well as your overall performance.

This is a great place to let it all hang out. Let your hitting partners know about the injury. Go ahead vent, express how you’re feeling inside.  They’re your support group.

They only want the best for you (..despite what they may say about you when you’re in a heated match against them haha). So,  release the pent up anger, frustration, and doubt that’s been swarming around in your mind since the injury first happened.

Not only that, but just by going out there and maybe mildly going through some swinging motions and other things you’d normally do, you might find some movements that don’t stress that part of the body as much…

…Ones you could work on to  help keep your form and rhythm without re-aggrivating the injury.

You can even learn and get better by simply observing. Observe the mistakes others make, until you’ll be able to play again and correct your own movements when you get back to the court.

I see Luke Walton of the LA Lakers do this when he had a pinched nerve in his back. He sat with the coaching staff and paid extra close attention to things like the teams ball movement, execution, and even how to avoid getting costly foul calls.

He said it made him a much smarter player, and when he got back from injury, he was ready to put it to use.

3. Get Goal Oriented: Don’t just sit there WAITING… Waiting without any sort of mental schedule or time table can drive a player mad. It’s too broad.

You need something to get hang your hopes on and to get you in a positive frame of mind. Your mind needs something specific.

Remember how you used to set performance goals for yourself in practice sessions before getting injured? Well, while you’re unable to play or practice, you must do the same thing and set recovery goals!

In order to make sure you’re on the right track, you must set mental benchmarks for yourself.

Think about the things  you’d  like to see happen to show yourself you’re getting better. Once you’ve got ‘em in your mind. Write them down and prioritize them.

Keep track of every step you take on the way to achieving these goals. This will help you monitor all of your improvement.

It’ll open your eyes and make you realize that you’re going somewhere in your recovery process and really on your way to getting better. That’s the only way you’re going to stay motivated. And if you’re not motivated, there’s no hope.

The last thing you want is to feel stuck, like nothings happening.  You’re working hard to see RESULTS.

Once you start to see that you ARE improving and what you’re doing IS working, you’ll feel a lot more confident and everything will get easier. And you’ll be out there whipping your opponent in no time.