The Inner Game of Tennis
Timothy Gallwey noticed as a tennis coach that most of what held his students back was not their strokes but the constant self critical voice in their heads. In this short book he lays out a framework of two selves, the analytical Self 1 that judges and the physical Self 2 that actually plays, and offers exercises for quieting the first so the second can perform. His examples come from tennis, but Gallwey's real subject is the psychology of learning any skill under pressure. The book has been read across sports, music, business, and therapy for fifty years, and it is often cited by executives, coaches, and artists as one of the most useful things they ever read. It made the phrase inner game part of the language.
Also by W. Timothy Gallwey
All works by W. Timothy Gallwey →
What you might want to know about The Inner Game of Tennis
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A tennis coach's slim classic on the mental game, arguing that performance improves when you get out of your own way.
Yes. Lewis has named The Inner Game of Tennis as one of the books he has given away most often and cited its ideas about self talk and performance in interviews and podcasts.
No. Most modern readers come to it for the general lessons on focus and self talk, and they apply the ideas to work, music, and other sports.
The Inner Game of Tennis was written by W. Timothy Gallwey, published in 1974 by Random House Trade Paperbacks.
The Inner Game of Tennis is 134 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Inner Game of Tennis takes most readers 2 to 3 hours to finish.
The Inner Game of Tennis is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.