April 14, 2025 (5-min read)
You’ve never played this point before.
You’ve played points, sure.
Thousands. Maybe hundreds of thousands.
But this one?
Nope. Never. Not once.
This point is brand new.
And if you can feel that—if you can actually know that—it will change the way you perform forever.
Because performance isn’t the repeat of the past.
It’s not even the execution of what you practiced.
Performance is when something new comes alive.
This is where most athletes get it backwards.
They think the goal of performance is to get it right.
To finally replicate the perfect version of themselves they once saw, once imagined, once chased.
But that’s not it.
Performance isn’t replication.
Performance is revelation.
The moment when your inner game breaks through the surface.
The moment when a truth inside you becomes action.
The moment when your potential doesn’t just exist—it plays.
You weren’t born to repeat.
You were born to reveal.
And that means:
Every point is a portal.
Not a portal to the win.
Not a portal to the next round.
A portal to you.
So let me ask you this—
When you step up to the line, do you remember who you are?
Not your rank.
Not your record.
Not your reputation.
But who you are—beneath the nerves, beyond the expectations?
Because if you don’t, the point will still be played.
But it won’t be played by you.
Performance is a decision.
Not a choice between forehand or backhand.
Not between serve placement or game plan.
It’s the choice to let the deepest part of you come forward and take the shot.
It’s the decision to stop hiding.
To stop performing for the scoreboard.
And to start performing for the sake of what wants to be expressed through you.
Do you realize what’s trying to come through you?
You are the conduit.
You are the bridge.
You are the lightning rod of potential in motion.
And the only thing you need to do is let it.
Let go of playing what you know.
Let go of playing like someone else.
Let go of playing to avoid mistakes.
You’re not here to play perfect.
You’re here to play true.
Every point is a birth.
A chance to discover something new in your game that didn’t exist the point before.
But here’s the thing:
That only happens if you’re willing to meet the moment as it is.
With nothing held back.
No residue from the last point.
No projection into the next one.
No echo from your past.
No preview of your future.
Just this point.
Just this swing.
Just this version of you—fully alive.
The best performers don’t “lock in.”
They let go.
And in that letting go, something locks on.
Not control.
Not certainty.
Not the outcome.
But rhythm.
Flow.
Creation.
That’s what we’re after.
That’s what we mean by Complete Performance.
Not a performance you control.
But a performance you channel.
The pros you watch on TV?
They’re not consistent because they’re robotic.
They’re consistent because they trust.
They trust the unknown to move through them.
They trust the moment to reveal what’s needed.
They don’t know what shot they’ll hit until they hit it.
But they trust that when they do, it will be them.
This point…
Is not a problem to solve.
It’s not a test to pass.
It’s not a situation to survive.
This point is a stage.
And you are the instrument.
This point is a wave.
And you are the surfboard.
This point is a canvas.
And you are the brush.
What’s trying to be expressed?
What version of you wants to make its entrance right now?
Not next match.
Not next year.
Now.
So stop gripping so tight.
Stop looking for the formula.
You’re not here to figure this out.
You’re here to feel it through.
Play from the inside out.
Let your hands move.
Let your breath guide.
Let your rhythm find itself.
Let your game surprise you.
This point is not the same as the last.
This point is not waiting for permission.
This point is alive.
And if you are too…
It will carry you.
It will create with you.
It will crown you—not because you won,
but because you played.
You don’t need to try harder.
You just need to allow more.
Allow your game to be seen.
Allow your swing to speak.
Allow your potential to perform.
This point has never happened before.
Let’s keep it that way.
– Master Matchpoint
New article out every Monday!
Master MatchPoint is run by Complete Performance Tennis, offering professional-level performance coaching to 1000+ junior, collegiate, and professional tennis players.
CP’s online portal is a first-of-its-kind digital academy bringing together like-minded athletes, providing programming and personalized support. Gain access to "The CP Blueprint", the inner game plan to play at your peak. Click below for more info ⬇️
It's Matchpoint. Every Monday
Join the competitive tennis community, and start your week with a W. This is the blog to take the pressure out of peak performance so you can play your game, your way, every day.
Get Master Matchpoint straight to your inbox. ⬇️
© 2024. All Rights Reserved.