My road to tennis was not easy. I had no one to mentor me at first and just watched tennis on TV like millions did in the early ‘80s. I wanted to play like Bjorn Borg but acted like John McEnroe when things went south for me. I sadly did not have great concentration and let things bother me, which my opponents enjoyed watching the meltdown. Through good coaching/mentoring, I had started to become a player with better focus and started to eliminate negativity within myself to improve my game to get to progress to the next level.

My advice to players: Don’t get distracted. Your mental sharpness will decrease at the cost of your court performance. Stay with the present. Focus and do not dwell on the past/future. As a New Yorker, I had to practice the New York saying, “Forget About It,” and stay with present focus and be positive no matter what happened. Use positive affirmations to yourself, and don’t be your own worst enemy. Lastly, you may want to put a wording label on your racket to remind you, such as “happy feet,” “relax/breath,” “be calm,” “let it go,” etc.

Just have fun and a pleasant attitude to others and, more importantly, to yourself! (Less stress … better for the heart!)