‘Something inside me has always been there…but now it’s awake, and I’m afraid. I don’t know what to do with it, but I need help’ (Star Wars)

In the beginning of 2018 I was lost. Both in the world of tennis and in my daily life. I thought a lot about quitting tennis. On the other hand I had a feeling inside which I still wanted to prove to myself and others. I knew it was a mental thing. I needed help because on my own I could not make the steps I wanted to make at that time. In February I met Dave and Cristina for the first time in Portugal and since then things started to change. We made a plan for the months June and July to work together.

Now, I can look back on those eight weeks and I am very proud and thankful. Proud of what I have improved so far. My request to Dave and Cristina was to help me perform better on the tennis court. To make that happen they made very clear that the work we had to do was much broader than just tennis related activities. This because of my/our believe that everything is interlinked. However, it was still a surprise on how many fronts we worked to improve my performance.

These eight weeks our focus was on the process. My tennis game was passive, and to compete on ATP level with my style of play, I had to play more aggressive. In just eight weeks, of working together with Dave and Cristina, I switched to the aggressive playstyle while, at the same time, adjusting some technical aspects. I was struggling for three years to make this change. For that I am thankful. I could not have made this step in this period of my life without them. I am thankful that they spend so much time with me during these eight weeks and also let me enter their lives. I am thankful that they shared their academic and practical skills with me. They teach me things they have incorporated in their own lives. That is very important to me for two reasons. One, it makes it real, when they would preach one thing and they do it themselves as well. Second, they show me I can do it too.

Cristina and Dave asked me to write something about the work we do. In those eight weeks the results in tennis were still more or less the same as before. Therefore, my first thought was that this was not the right time to write something about it because the ‘results’ are not there yet. However, this is not true and I corrected myself. This thought does not reflect the work of RoLo Mental Coaching. It is quite the reverse, they focused on the positive, so what did I achieve in those eight weeks? I changed both my game and lifestyle. I feel more positive, self-confident, creative, being my true self, aware, happy, relaxed, organised, autonomous and assertive. So yes, the result in tennis is not there yet. And yes, people who don’t know me that well will talk the same about me. But those in my inner circle, including myself, know that I have changed. And that I value.

I want to end with a quote, which for me could have been a quote of Dave and Cristina.

“You are not who you think you are. You are not your fears, your thoughts, or your body. You are not your insecurities, your career, or your memories. You’re not what you’re criticized for and you’re not what you’re praised for. You are a boundless wealth of potential. So go find yourself.” (Vironika Tugaleva) (It is not black J)