The Relentless Grind of Tennis: A Conversation with Filip Peliwo

The Relentless Grind of Tennis: A Conversation with Filip Peliwo

By Sean Dickson

Tennis is a sport that doesn’t give you the time to dwell on your mistakes. Unlike team sports where players might get a week to reset or an extended off-season, tennis players are back on court almost immediately, pushing through another tournament in another city, with barely any downtime. This relentless schedule was a key theme in my conversation with Filip, a professional tennis player whose career has been defined by the fine balance of resilience, preparation, and adaptability.

Reflect, reset and go again

From the start of our conversation, Filip’s perspective on the demanding nature of tennis was clear. "You play 35 weeks a year," he told me. "Unless you’re winning every tournament, you’re going to be dealing with a lot of failure." This is something many outside of professional sports don’t often consider. The margin for success is incredibly thin, and with a schedule that barely allows for rest, players must develop a deep mental strength to push through disappointments.

Filip talked about missing a key opportunity in a recent tournament. One that, had he capitalised on it, could have seen him win the event. Instead, a single loss shifted the momentum entirely. "The last two weeks, I’ve lost in the first round," he admitted. "It’s disappointing, but you don’t have the time to dwell on it. You get up the next day and go again."

This mindset isn’t something that comes naturally; it’s trained. And as we delved into his preparation, it became clear just how much of a mental game tennis truly is.

Uncovering the ideal preparation

Filip has worked with sports psychologists in the past, arming himself with tools to manage his emotions and regulate his mindset both pre- and post-match. "It all comes down to preparation," he said. "Knowing how you work as a player, understanding your body, and learning from match experiences."

One of the most interesting things he shared was the role of mindfulness in his process. Many athletes are told to visualise success, but for Filip, it’s about connecting those mental images with real-world physical sensations. "Mindfulness isn’t just about thinking positively," he explained. "It’s about bringing your attention to the right place. For instance, your breathing, your body and your balance. He does this to remain focused on the process, not the outcome."

This distinction is key. Many players find it easy to remain calm in practice, but the challenge is transferring that calmness into high-pressure match situations. Filip works hard to bridge that gap. "You have to replicate pressure in training," he told me. "It’s never going to be as stressful as a match, but you can put small consequences in place—targets, bets, even structuring points to simulate being down in a game. The more you do it, the easier it gets." One thing that is important to note, although replicating pressure in training is useful, match experience is the most powerful tool for development and growth.

Operating with adrenaline

Every athlete has an optimal performance state, and for Filip, that means operating at about a 7/10 level of adrenaline. "Some players perform best at a lower intensity," he explained, "but for me, I need to be slightly elevated, not too relaxed. If I drop too low, I don’t have the sharpness I need, but if I go too high, I start making rushed decisions."

Managing adrenaline is crucial in big moments. "Breathing is a big part of it," he said. "You need to have a plan in place rather than letting your mind run down ‘what if’ scenarios. If you start thinking about the final before you’ve played the first round, you’re in trouble."

To keep himself grounded, Filip uses what he calls ‘anchors.’ These are little things that help you stay focused, such as focusing on the contact point of the ball, where your balance is in your stance, the height of the toss. “They help me re-centre when my mind starts drifting."

He also emphasised that adrenaline regulation isn’t just about controlling energy but directing it. "It’s about channelling it into focus and precision. The best performances happen when you’re in that sweet spot of being engaged, but in control."

Journaling and reflective practice

One of the things that stood out most to me was Filip’s meticulous approach to journaling. He doesn’t just track his own performance, he uses it as a tool to analyse his opponents and refine his game. "I break my journaling into different columns, mental, physical, tactical, and technical," he explained. "I document what I did, how long I did it for, how it went, how intense it was, how I felt, and how it compares to other situations."

This structured approach allows him to recognise patterns in his own game, identify strengths and weaknesses, and fine-tune his preparation. Reflections go beyond self-improvement. They can also be used to study his opponents. "I play a lot of the same guys repeatedly, but sometimes you don’t see someone for a while. Having notes helps me prepare, so I’m not going in blind."

His analysis isn’t limited to technical aspects; he watches for emotional and psychological cues as well. "Some guys are erratic, you don’t know what they’ll do next. Others may have a vendetta against you, and that affects how they approach your matches. It’s important to be aware of these things. Watching how someone copes with different conditions, how their emotions fluctuate, how they react under pressure—it all plays a part in how I prepare."

Filip acknowledged that while preparation is crucial, adaptability is just as important. "You can’t become overly reliant on what you’ve studied, because some players will completely change their game plan. Early in my career, that threw me off. Now, I try to balance preparation with staying present and making adjustments in real time."

The mental toll of setbacks

Tennis is as much about recovering from setbacks as it is about winning. Filip has had his fair share of them, including some physical, some mental and some a result of misguided coaching. "Some setbacks I’ve managed better than others," he admitted. "Right now, it’s taking me longer than I’d like to get back to where I want to be."

This is where past experiences become crucial. "Something that got me to my best ranking before isn’t necessarily working now," he reflected. "That’s tough to accept, but you have to be adaptable." The process of coming back from injury or poor form is a delicate balance. Its important to take lessons from the past but not dwel on them too much. "The game is always changing. You can’t rely on what worked before, but at the same time, confidence from past successes helps propel you forward."

Confidence, he explained, isn’t just about belief, it’s about preparedness. "When you’ve put in the work, when you’ve played enough matches, you start to see the game better. Shot selection becomes clearer. You adapt to adversity more naturally."

Legacy: How Filip wants to be remembered

Towards the end of our conversation, I asked Filip how he wants to be remembered in the sport. His answer was simple but powerful: "I want to be known as an absolute competitor. A nightmare to play against."

Beyond results, he wants to be valued as someone who maximized his potential and entertained fans with his game. "I want to be someone who people enjoyed watching, but at the same time, someone they never wanted to see on the other side of the net."

That mentality of being relentless, committed, and adaptable, is what defines Filip. And after hearing his approach to handling pressure, setbacks, and the relentless grind of professional tennis, it’s clear why he’s been able to sustain a career in one of the most unforgiving sports in the world.