IMPORTANT 

Performance anxieties and skill acquisition are innately intertwined. Every athlete has their own personal relationship with the mental game. Thus, every athlete should be treated as an individual.

GOAL: Enhance tennis performance using a peer reviewed scientific model of skill-focused imagery & hypnosis

Adding hypnosis as a method to upgrade skills imagery is akin to turbocharging your practice. Like using a magnifying glass to focus, hypnosis clarifies imagery and emotions.

Each of the following disciplines/techniques are stand-alone methods for enhancing sports performance. I have incorporated them into a unique and extraordinarily successful multi-sensorial tool. The purpose of this article is not to go into detail about each of these techniques. Rather the focus is to integrate these methods into the PETTLEP model of imagery.

The PETTLEP Model of Imagery

Considerable scientific research demonstrates that imagery is an influential tool in sports psychology(Driskell, Copper, & Moran, 1994). 

Brain imaging techniques suggest that imaging a skill accesses the same neural regions of the brain as actually performing the action(Ehrsson, Geyer, & Naito, 2003; Fadiga et al, 1999). Overlap in brain activation is called functional equivalence. This is one reason why imagery leads to beneficial effects on physical performance.

Functional Equivalence For Tennis

Holmes and Collins (2001) developed the PETTLEP model of motor imagery. This framework heightens the functional equivalence between imagery and physical performance.

Each letter in PETTLEP represents an important factor when implementing imagery interventions. The model proposes seven elements. When manipulated, these can increase functional equivalence. PETTLEP means Physical, Environment, Task, Timing, Learning, Emotion, and Perspective.

I’m going to specifically focus on tennis for these seven elements. However, any other mental or physical skill can be substituted. 

Physical - for optimal benefits, imagery should be as physical an experience as possible. One obvious way is to laden one's imagery with physiological responses. The following are descriptions of enhancing imagery to include the physical experience. Include wearing the same clothes as during a match. See yourself holding the tennis racquet and the ball. Imagine yourself in the very environment where the action is happening. Clearly picture yourself executing the serve or backhand in your mind. If you are visualizing improving a stroke, imagine the feel of the ball on the strings. Feel the emotions as the ball goes in and hear the sounds of the crowd applauding your skill. How exactly does it sound? How exactly does it feel? You must imagine executing the action as vividly as possible. For example, in the serve, imagine your service preparation. Visualize a well-paced ball toss followed by a smooth, controlled racket swing. Feel and see a perfect connection with the ball. Imagine the sound of the ball hitting the strings and fizzing through the air directly to your target on the other side of the net. Image how your body feels standing ready, focused, and relaxed…waiting for the return. Then continue experiencing the swing through to its completion.

Environment - refers to the place where tennis is played. According to PETTLEP, keeping imagery like the performance environment enriches the neural pathways. Imagery is most effective when performed in the actual competitive arena.

Task – try to image details specific to the task. Image at the appropriate level of expertise for the athlete. A novice tennis player avoids imagining elite-level moves because he or she is not at that level yet. As the novice progresses, the imagery of their skills should also progress.

Timing - This refers to the speed at which imagery is completed. Timing is often crucial when performing sports skills. The suggestion is to have the athlete perform the imagery in ‘real time’ when imaging the skill played.

Learning - continually adapt and review the imagery over time. Match changing task demands to the experience level of the athlete. Cognition and feelings experienced during movement change as an individual becomes more skilled. Adapt the imagery to reflect the improvement in performance. Incorporate skill level and physical fitness into the imagery.

Emotions - realistic emotions make the imagery much more evocative of the real-life scenario. Thus, imbuing emotions, when visualizing skills, leads to a more vivid imagery experience. Personalized emotion-laden imagery lead to greater muscle activity. The athlete experiences higher self-rated imagery vividness compared to more generic interventions.

“The pre-match stress and nervousness that you will almost inevitably feel before you step on court can actually work to improve your performance. Nervousness is only negative when it interrupts the healthy state of equilibrium of the nervous system. When your nervous system becomes overwhelmed, you experience a heightened state of readiness (‘fight or flight’)  as chemicals flood your body. This, in turn, contracts your muscles and prevents a fluid, relaxed on-court performance. In these situations, you can use visualization and relaxation techniques to return your body and mind to a state of equilibrium. In effect, visualization allows you to play the match out in your head before you even step onto the court. You can imagine yourself feeling calm and steady at different points in the match, visualize yourself winning and feeling the glory on match point; if you have ‘done’ it before the match, there will be less pressure to do it during the match. Visualization can perhaps be used most effectively on the serve, the single shot over which the player has complete control. Maria Sharapova, the queen of routine, can actually be seen visualizing the service motion between points, trying to maintain focus and playing out the points in her head.” Ralston (2015)

Perspective - refers to the viewpoint of the performer during imagery. This can be internal (first person, i.e., through the eyes of the performer) or external (third person, i.e., seeing oneself performing as if watching on tv). Accommodate the athlete’s wishes as far as possible so that the athlete is comfortable with what he or she is being asked to do.

Review of Literature

Post, et al(2015) found that the physical practice plus imagery, and the physical practice group, significantly outperformed both the control group and the group with imagery practice alone. Combined physical practice and mental practice are better than physical practice alone. (Hird, Landers, Thomas, & Horan, 1991).

Afrouzeh et al(2015), and Smith et al(2007), support the combination of PETTLEP imagery with physical practice for better improvement than only traditional imagery with physical practice. PETTLEP imagery without the combination of any physical practice has a significant impact on the acquisition of sport-specific skills. The research found that no significant change occurred in tennis service through PETTLEP imagery alone. This result is consistent with earlier research, which also concluded imagery alone is ineffective in novices for acquiring motor tasks(Gomes, et al, 2014; Post et al, 2015; Smith & Collins, 2004; Smith & Holmes, 2004; Smith et al, 2007).

Cherappurath & Elayaraja (2017) -- conclude that the combined group (PETTLEP imagery and SAQ) is an effective method to improve the tennis skills among novice tennis players. PETTLEP imagery, and SAQ training, have important implications for sports training and sports psychology. When choosing imagery intervention, create functionally equivalent imagery for the greatest positive effect on performers. Imagery also increases the different skills of the performer. In this study, groundstroke and volley performance showed a significant impact in combined groups. Comparing the SAQ training group to the PETTLEP imagery group, both skills showed significant improvement in SAQ training. In volley performance, there is no significance among the PETTLEP imagery group. This study suggests that PETTLEP imagery combined with SAQ training has a greater impact on performance. So, this combination could be useful for research in the various fields of sports.

The basis of visualization is the lesser-known ‘Carpenter effect.’ The observer of a tennis match experiences high levels of activity in the brain and muscles. This neural activity is activated in the same way as the physical movement witnessed. This develops neuromuscular programming. The neural pathways remain and assist the observer in executing the same actions at a later date. Players watching a high-level player hitting, unconsciously learn to hit those strokes through the ‘Carpenter effect’. The most famous example of this effect is Pete Sampras learning his strokes by observing Rod Laver tapes over and over.

References

Cherappurath, N., Elayaraja, M., Kabeer, D., Anjum, A., Vogazianos, P. & Antoniades, A. (2020). PETTLEP imagery and tennis service performance: an applied investigation, Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity, 15(1); 20190013. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1515/jirspa-2019-0013.

Hird, J. S., Landers, D. M., Thomas, J. R., & Horan, J. J. (1991). Physical practice is superior to mental practice in enhancing cognitive and motor task performance, Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 13(3); 281–293.

Cherappurath, N. & Elayaraja, M. (2017). Combined effects of SAQ and PETTLEP imagery training: A study on the learning process of new skills among novice tennis players, International Journal of Physiology, Nutrition, and Physical Educations 2(2); 169-173.

Post, P., Williams, C., Simpson, D. & Berning, J. (2015). The Effects of a PETTLEP Imagery Intervention on the Learning of a Complex Motor Skill, Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity, 10(1); 19-30. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1515/jirspa-2015-0007.

William, R. (2015). Playing Tennis Like a Pro: The Crowood Press.

Image from Will Boucek, The Tennis Tribe.