MindServe Coaching

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Lisbon
MindServe Coaching

Train your mind like you train your body
🎾 Mental Performance Coaching for Tennis Players
Former ATP Pro | Sports Psychology Master's

24/06/2026

Some of the most important coaching your child gets doesn’t come from the coach. It comes from YOU. On the car ride home.

When you start peppering them right after a loss with “why did you lose?” and “how did you miss that shot?” — the car stops being a safe place. They’re emotional. They’re vulnerable. They don’t need analysis. They need support.

Here’s the simple rule I share in the video:

→ No tactical talk for 30 minutes — unless they bring it up
→ Ask once: “Do you want to talk about it now or later?”
→ Praise the effort: “I’m proud of the match you played today”

When the car becomes safe, you’ll see your child compete with much less fear the next time out.

Tap play. Save it. Send it to a tennis parent who needs to hear it.

17/06/2026

If your post-match conversations revolve around results, ranking and points, you’re not making your kid more competitive. You’re making them more afraid.

Afraid to miss. Afraid to lose. Afraid to disappoint you.

That fear shows up as safe tennis. Tight arms on break points. A kid who can crush it in practice and freeze in tournaments.

In this video I break down the simple shift that changes everything:

→ Lead with PROCESS questions
→ Let RESULTS come second

Three questions to ask after the next match:

1. How did you feel out there?
2. What did you learn today?
3. What are you proud of?

Same parent. Same love. Completely different message for your kid’s nervous system.

Tap play. Save it. Send it to a tennis parent who needs to hear it.

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15/06/2026

Be honest.

After your kid’s last match — what was the first thing you asked or told them?

“Did you win?”
“Why can’t you stay focused?”
“This loss will hurt your ranking.”

If most of your conversations revolve around results, ranking and points, you’re quietly teaching your kid two dangerous things:

→ “If I win, I’m valuable.”
→ “If I lose, I’m not.”

And how does that show up on court?

They play too safe. They stop taking the necessary risks. They tighten up on the big points — because they don’t want to disappoint you.

Can you still be competitive as a tennis parent? Of course. But your focus has to shift much more toward the PROCESS and much less toward the RESULT.

After the match, swap your usual questions for these:

→ How did you feel out there today?
→ What did you learn?
→ What are you proud of?

The result still matters. But it comes AFTER the process, not before.

Reverse the order — and you’ll see your kid play freer, braver, and (funny enough) win more.

Tell me — what’s the first thing you usually ask or say after a match?

wtatennis sportpsychology mentalperformance tenniscoach tennislife parenting performancecoach tennisplayer usta processoverresults

13/06/2026

Honest question.

You said you’d wake up at 6:30 for the gym. Did you?
You said you’d do the rehab today. Did you?
You said you’d journal after practice. Did you?

Every time you make a promise to yourself and break it — your brain takes note. Quietly. “We don’t really do what we say we’ll do.”

Do that enough times and the most important relationship you have — the one with yourself — gets damaged.

Then you walk on court at 5-5 in the third and wonder why you can’t trust yourself in the big moment.

Self-trust isn’t a feeling. It’s a track record.

Built from small things:
→ The alarm you don’t snooze
→ The workout you don’t skip
→ The cold shower you said you’d take
→ The phone you put down at 10 PM like you promised

Boring? Yes. That’s the point.

The player who keeps boring promises to themselves all week long builds the kind of confidence that doesn’t crack on tournament Sunday.

So tell me — YES, you keep your promises? Or NO, you’ve been letting yourself down lately?
Comment below. Then make ONE small promise for tomorrow. And actually keep it.

mentalperformance tenniscoach selftrust discipline mentalgame tennislife competitor performancecoach tennisplayer habits

10/06/2026

Injuries are part of this sport. As much as forehands and backhands.

And the first thing that disappears when you get injured? Your confidence.

In this video I break down what confidence actually IS — and the 2 ways you can still build it while you can’t play:

1. Keep the small promises you make to yourself. Every kept promise tells your brain — I can trust me.

2. Do hard, uncomfortable things on purpose. Cold shower. Tough workout. Study something new. You’re training your nervous system to stay calm in discomfort.

When you come back, you won’t feel like you’ve lost a step. You’ll feel like you’ve already been there.

Tap play. Save it. Send it to a player who’s stuck on the sidelines.

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08/06/2026

Be honest.

The day you got injured — what happened to your self-belief?

For most players, it disappears overnight. The court was where you proved to yourself you were good. Take that away and the doubts move in fast.

“What if I come back slower?”
“What if I lose my level?”
“What if I’m not the same player?”

Here’s what most people miss: confidence isn’t built on the court. Confidence is SELF-TRUST. It’s your brain quietly saying — I can handle difficult things.

And self-trust can be trained anywhere. Even when you can’t hit a ball.

Two ways to keep building it while you heal:

1. KEEP THE SMALL PROMISES you make to yourself. The 7:30 wake-up. The rehab session you said you’d do. The workout you scheduled. Every kept promise is a vote for “I can trust me.”

2. DO HARD, UNCOMFORTABLE THINGS ON PURPOSE. Cold shower. Hard gym session. Study something that scares you. Get used to discomfort instead of running from it.

When you walk back onto that court — you won’t feel like a stranger. You’ll feel like someone who’s been training the whole time. Just not in the way everyone expected.

Tell me — what’s the small promise you’re keeping this week while you heal?

mentalperformance tenniscoach injuryrecovery confidence selftrust tennislife competitor performancecoach tennisplayer returntoplay

06/06/2026

Honest question.

After a bad miss — what do you actually say to yourself?
"You're useless." "What a joke." "You always do this." "You don't deserve to win."

Now imagine your best friend missed that same shot. Would you walk up to them on the changeover and say those exact words?

Of course not. You'd never speak to someone you love like that.

So why is it okay to speak to YOU like that?

Here's the truth most players miss: your inner voice isn't background noise. It's instruction. Every sentence you repeat is a small vote for who you're becoming.

Tough self-talk doesn't make you tougher. It makes you smaller. Slower to recover. Quicker to spiral.

What actually works:

→ Be tough on the GAME. Demanding standards. No excuses on effort.
→ Be gentle on the PERSON. The human holding the racket is doing their best with what they know today.

That's not soft. That's elite.
Every player I've worked with at the top has some version of this dialed in. The ones who don't — burn out, choke, or quit.

So tell me: YES, you'd talk to a friend that way? Or NO, you wouldn't?
Comment below. Then notice this week how often you break your own rule.

30/05/2026

When you watch João Fonseca play, it’s impossible not to be blown away.
That forehand? Pure brutality. He can generate as much power as anyone on tour, and when he has time to load up, his forehand is already one of the biggest weapons on the ATP Tour. Add a serve that regularly cracks 200 km/h plus a nasty kick serve, and you see why he’s being talked about as a future world No. 1 and multi–Grand Slam champion.

But what impresses me most isn’t just the highlight-reel stuff.

Go back two years and the blueprint against a 17-year-old Fonseca was pretty clear:
move him, go behind him, use the drop shot. He hit just as big, but he looked more flat-footed. Once you got him defending, he wasn’t the same player.

That game plan doesn’t really work anymore.
Today, João looks lighter on his feet, covers the court beautifully, and defends at a completely different level. Those “small” changes are the product of countless hours of speed, agility, and stability work, done consistently over years. It speaks volumes about his willingness to attack his weaknesses and the commitment of his team day in, day out.

And then there’s his resilience.
Back-to-back comebacks from two sets to love down, one match lasting 3h30, the next — against Djokovic — almost 5 hours. That’s elite physical conditioning and a rock-solid mindset… at just 19 years old.

We’ll see what he has left in the tank for his fourth-round clash with Casper Ruud, but the evolution of his fitness and mentality already screams one thing: this is the foundation of a truly special career.

What part of Fonseca’s game do you think will become his defining trademark — the power, the movement, or the mentality?

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Rua Placido De Abreu
Lisbon
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+351912954885

Website

https://mindserve-coaching.com/

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