Hope you are enjoying your Wimbeldon. Listen out for the commentators applauding a player for an improvised shot. They mean that the player has done something a bit unusual – with an odd angle or an unlikely stretch.

Yet there’s another sense in which tennis champions are great improvisers: they are responding in the moment with the best of their resources. Whoever keeps their attention focused and accesses all the skills they have practiced will have that extra edge that can make the difference.

Improvisation is not ‘winging it’ – it’s the honed ability to put all your preparation into practice without getting tangled up by your plans.

Athletes describe it as being in ‘the zone’. We call it ‘improvisational energy’. It’s the same thing.

Paul

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