JOHNNA KONTA: MIND GAMES
JOHANNAKONTA: MINDGAMES
British No.1 and ASICS ambassador Johanna Konta is as strong mentally as she is physically and technically. It’s her brains, much more than her brawn, that have helped her become the greatest British female player of her generation.
newspaper. “It’s a habit you keep trying to reinforce every day, because the more you do that the more smooth it becomes. It’s like a muscle.”
By Dominic Bliss
Yes, she works constantly on her technique and tactics. Of course she does. Certainly she puts in countless hours in the gym, too. All professional tennis players do both of these. But where Johanna Konta differs from many of her peers is that, every single day, she also trains her mind. On court, this is perhaps her greatest weapon of all.
The man responsible for her mental strength, Juan Coto, unfortunately passed away last December but the positive influence he had on his charge during the years he worked with her should not be underestimated. He was the brains behind her brains, you might say. “When I go into the gym, I’m working on getting my muscles stronger and I try to treat my mind in the same manner,” Johanna explained recently to the Independent
www.isportgroup.com/InternationalTennisMagazine 12 | March 2017 INTERNATIONALTENNISMAGAZINE
Johanna first met Coto through her former coach Esteban Carril. It turns out the two men hailed from the same town in northern Spain and used to play tennis together on Spain’s junior national circuit. Earlier in his career Coto had advised the likes of business people, entrepreneurs and actors, but switched to tennis, a sport where what’s happening inside players’ heads is just as crucial as what’s happening with their arms and their legs.
Johanna said the areas they used to concentrate on included mental relaxation techniques, visualisation of positive outcomes, and the need to focus only on the things one can control. “It’s about being adaptable and reaching a place in my head where it’s quiet,” she said in an interview with Hello Magazine.
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