Coaching the Whole Player: Mental Health and the Modern Tennis Coach

As Mental Health Awareness Month unfolds in May, tennis coaches are being asked to expand their role – not just as instructors, but as leaders who shape the full experience of their players. According to Dr. Larry Lauer, Director of Mental Performance for USA Tennis, the first step is understanding the distinction between mental performance and mental health.

“People use the terms interchangeably,” Lauer explains, “but mental performance is about how your brain functions on court, how you execute. Mental health is broader. It’s about the whole person and how they’re functioning across all parts of life.”

For coaches, the distinction matters. Mental performance focuses on skills like resilience, confidence and focus – tools that help athletes perform. Mental health, however, considers whether a player is coping, adapting and functioning beyond the court.

Lauer says, “The question becomes: is this something performance-related, or is it deeper than that?” He points to two key indicators:

• Pervasiveness: “If it’s showing up in tennis, school and relationships, that’s more of a mental health concern.” 

• Intensity: “Extreme anxiety on court might look like performance, but it can reflect deeper issues.” 

This awareness helps coaches decide when to support and when to refer.

When a player struggles emotionally, Lauer emphasizes a simple starting point: conversation. “Just ask how they’re doing and be there to listen,” he says. “You don’t even have to provide advice.”

He’s clear about boundaries. “Our job is not necessarily to resolve the issue,” he says. “It’s to understand and help direct them to someone who can.”

Building a network of psychologists, trainers and other professionals gives coaches confidence and players access to proper care. Lauer and the mental performance team work with players to avoid running into mental health concerns. If those concerns do come up, they work with therapists to provide team care.

Burnout rarely appears overnight. Lauer describes it as a progression:

• Overtraining: fatigue, irritability, but motivation remains 

• Staleness: declining motivation and enjoyment 

• Burnout: detachment, reduced effort and emotional withdrawal 

“You’ll hear things like, ‘It doesn’t matter what I do,’” he says. “That’s when you start to see we might be going down this path.”

Subtle behavioral changes such as less engagement and shifts in how players are responding are often the earliest signals.

One of Lauer’s core messages for coaches is shifting players away from results-driven thinking.

“When you focus on outcomes,” he explains, “you’re focusing on things out of your control, and that creates anxiety.”

Instead, process-based coaching emphasizes effort, decision-making and habits. “It’s like lifting the weight off your shoulders,” Lauer says. “Now evaluation is based on things you can control.”

This approach not only improves performance but protects mental well-being, especially for young athletes navigating growth, expectations and uncertainty.

Delivering feedback is unavoidable. Delivering it effectively is essential. “If you consistently reinforce what players are doing well, they’ll handle constructive feedback better,” Lauer explains. He recommends:

• Be specific, not general.

• Give feedback in real time.

• Pair correction with belief: “I know you can get this.” 

Negative phrasing, he warns, shifts players into fear-based thinking – they focus on avoiding mistakes instead of learning.

A key theme in Lauer’s work is psychological safety. “Players need to feel safe to try, fail and speak openly,” he says. “If they feel judged, they won’t share.”

Coaches can normalize mental health conversations by sharing their own experiences, modeling coping strategies and emphasizing values like resilience and integrity. Lauer says, “There are positive ways to cope, and players are listening to you.”

Even simple routines can have broader impact. Lauer highlights between-point routines as an example. “They teach players to reset, refocus and stay present,” he says. “That’s a life skill.”

These habits – breathing, reframing, redirecting attention – help athletes manage stress both on and off the court. “I believe these skills can act as a buffer,” he adds. “They help people adapt to stress.”

Addressing the importance of mental health in sports is no longer hidden. Lauer credits athletes for driving the change. He says, “Every time someone shares their story, it gives someone else permission to do the same.”

This shift has reduced stigma and increased support systems across organizations and coaching environments.

Creating “more good days,” the theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Month, starts with shared purpose. “We’re in this together to make one another better,” Lauer says.

He encourages coaches to foster connection in group settings, reinforce shared goals and celebrate learning, not just winning. “If we focus on values like effort and resilience,” he says, “everybody can win every day.”

Lauer often returns to a simple idea: “Happy people play better.” For coaches, that means designing environments where players feel supported, challenged and valued beyond results.

“There’s a lot to gain from sport,” Lauer says, “but it’s not guaranteed. We have to be intentional about creating the right environment.”

Additional Resource:

Dr. Lauer co-hosts the Compete Like a Champion podcast, featuring more than 200 episodes on coaching, mental performance and player development.