When we watch players compete at the highest level, we usually focus on their technique, fitness, or strategy. Yet, behind every great performance lies something less visible but just as decisive: the ability to manage emotions. Emotional intelligence, the capacity to recognize, understand, and regulate emotions, is often what separates a player who thrives under pressure from one who collapses.

Emotion vs. Mood: The Foundation of Mental Control

Before we talk about controlling emotions, we need to understand what they are:
• Emotion is an automatic response to a stimulus. The stimulus can come from inside (our own thoughts) or from outside (the environment around us). Emotions are fast, intense, and short-lived. For example, fear can arise when facing a tough opponent, anger after a double fault, or joy after a winning shot. They prime the body to act by increasing heart rate, sharpening focus, or releasing energy.

• Mood is what comes after the emotion. Moods are emotional states...