“We have to help him”: sports psychologists explain Christian Garin’s difficult emotional moment

Christian Garin’s current moment is not the best, as he has only accumulated one victory in six games played in 2024. . Last fall, this Tuesday against Tomás Barrios in the round of 16 at the Santiago Open.

As a result of this poor level, the national racket has once again made the same mistakes that have condemned it in recent months and said goodbye early to the Creole competition. “I feel like today I can lose to anyone. I am at a very low level. I said it before the week, a lot of pain. “This time I don’t feel good on the pitch” he expressed with disappointment at a press conference after his defeat against his compatriot.

“Every day I wake up, I try to keep improving, but it doesn’t work. I try every day to move forward, but it doesn’t happen. I play horribly and, like I said, today I can lose to anyone. I try so hard and play so bad, everything goes wrong “he added.

In this direction, Sporty He wanted to know what was the cause of this frustration which so characterizes the 83rd in the ATP rankings In this year’s tournaments he spoke with different sports psychologists who gave him the keys to the difficult event that the native of Arica is experiencing and the guidelines he must follow to return to tennis elite.

The 7-6(3), 7-5 defeat against Tomás Barrios had a profound impact on Christian Garin’s mood. And it is not surprising, since this new disappointment on the grounds of San Carlos de Apoquindo, is added to those already occurring in the Australian Open, the Punta del Este Challenger, the Córdoba Open and the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro .

For this reason, his performances cause concern and concern among Chilean fans who cannot understand how one of the most important tennis players in the country has today become one of the most dejected. According to experts, there is a reason: the 27-year-old athlete’s lack of tolerance for frustration .

Felipe Fuenzalida , sports psychologist, attributes Garin’s performance to the stage of changes he is currently experiencing. “I understand that Christian It’s in transition, with a new technician, with a work team making some adjustments and new additions . This requires time, that is, being able to uninstall previous behaviors, structured ways of working and being able to implement a new one. In this process, we obviously do not achieve regularity and we tend to alternate good situations with bad ones. », Explains the specialist.

In addition, Fuenzalida accuses physical ailments of being one of the triggers for the constant falls of the former world 17th and winner of five ATP tournaments. “When you fail to deploy what you planned, you become frustrated and impatient. In addition, he suffered numerous injuries that reduced the continuity of adaptive processes. You’re probably trying good or different things, and while you’re in this learning process, an injury appears and you have to stop. “It’s in a constant state of starting over.” he added.

The case is similar for Alexi Ponce , expert in sports psychology and current director of the consulting firm Go Focus, who also points to the inability to overcome failures as one of the main culprits of Gago’s current situation. “He says he practices and practices and when things don’t work, it obviously requires mental intervention. Tennis is a sport that has many points moments, outdoor conditions, courts in poor condition, contested points. and all this must be taken into account to have frustration tolerance” he rocks.

In this sense, Ponce recommends that the psychological team that accompanies Garin identify his mistakes to gradually return to his best version and leave behind the disadvantages that tormented him during these complex months. “Tennis is a sport that involves a lot of self-dialogue, where each athlete must find the dialogue that favors them. There are some who are very critical of themselves, others are encouraged, but we must help them find their own dialogue. Once you recognize what type of situation changes your emotional state and how helps you regain calm, you can be in an optimal psychological state. Just as we train tactically, technically and physically, we must do mental work” he concludes.