FROM REPRESENTATIVE PRACTICE TO REPRESENTATIVE PERCEPTION
Coaches do more than shape how players move; they also shape what players learn to notice. While contemporary discussions in tennis coaching have increasingly focused on the design of representative practice, an equally important question remains: what exactly are players learning to attend to in those environments?
Previous research has demonstrated that practice design influences both skill transfer and player behaviour (L. Krause et al., 2019; Pinder et al., 2011). In a previous article, “Players Adapt to the Practice Environment Coaches Create”, the importance of representative Learning Design (RLD) was discussed, highlighting how players adapt to the informational and tactical demands embedded within practice environments.
Learning is not simply a matter of reproducing movement or acquiring technical solutions. Instead, performers become increasingly sensitive to information that guides perception and action. Consequently, understanding how players learn to notice, interpret, and act on information may be just as important as understanding how practice tasks are designed. This article, therefore, explores the concepts of intention and attention in tennis, examining how players become sensitive to information and how intentions shape decision-making via perception and action.
INTRODUCING INTENTION AND ATTENTION
Human learning may be understood as more than the acquisition of movement patterns or the reproduction of technical actions. From a contemporary skill acquisition perspective, learning involves detecting information that supports successful action in a particular environment. It is proposed that learning occurs through direct learning, whereby performers become progressively sensitive to informational variables that enable more effective regulation of behaviour. Accordingly, learning involves changes in the information used to guide action rather than simply changes in movement itself.
A key concept underpinning this process is attunement. Attunement refers to becoming increasingly sensitive to useful sources of information within the performance environment. In tennis, a beginner may primarily attend to the ball’s flight, even though this represents only a small proportion of the available information. More experienced players recognise a broader range of informational variables, including their opponent’s positioning, court geometry, emerging tactical opportunities, previous shot patterns, and temporal constraints. This richer attunement enables performers to regulate their actions more effectively and adapt to the continually changing demands of competition.
From this viewpoint, the role of coaching extends beyond teaching movement solutions. Coaches also influence what players learn to notice, ignore, and act upon. This shift from teaching movements towards educating perception is often described as the education of attention. Closely related to this process is the education of intention, which concerns how performers’ goals and purposes shape which information becomes meaningful within a performance environment.
THE EDUCATION OF ATTENTION
Education of attention refers to the process of learning what information within the environment is most relevant for guiding action. In tennis, this presents a unique challenge due to the richness and complexity of the performance environment. Players must continuously regulate their behaviour in relation to multiple sources of information, including the movement of the ball, their opponent’s positioning and actions, court geometry, score, and temporal constraints.
Gibson (1979) proposed that perception is fundamentally for action, with performers perceiving information in relation to opportunities for action available within their environment. This suggests that skilled performance depends not simply on acquiring movement solutions but on becoming increasingly attuned to information that supports effective action. Building on this work, Jacobs & Michaels (2007) argued that learning occurs through direct learning, whereby performers become progressively sensitive to informational variables that more effectively regulate behaviour. Therefore, expertise is not characterised by perceiving more information, but by becoming increasingly sensitive to the information most useful for guiding action within a particular performance context.
Expert tennis players learn to detect different sources of information than less experienced performers. Although two players may occupy the same environment, they may perceive different opportunities for action based on their level of attunement. Research in tennis provides evidence of this process. Shim et al. (2005) demonstrated that highly skilled tennis players were better able to use advanced visual information from their opponents to anticipate shot direction. These findings suggest that expertise is partly characterised by becoming sensitive to informational variables available before ball contact, enabling performers to anticipate and regulate action more effectively. Similarly, Loffing & Hagemann (2014) found that skilled tennis players utilised contextual information, such as on-court positioning, when anticipating shot outcomes. This suggests that expertise involves attunement not only to movement information but also to broader environmental and tactical information that shapes opportunities for action. Collectively, these findings support the notion that expertise in tennis is characterised by an enhanced ability to detect and utilise information most relevant to successful performance.
Coaching environments play an important role in shaping what players learn to attend to during practice. The informational variables available within a task influence the opportunities performers have to become attuned to relevant sources of information. This means that practice activities which remove key informational constraints, such as opponents, score, or tactical consequences, may limit opportunities for players to develop attunement to the information that regulates performance during competition. In contrast, practice environments designed according to the principles of RLD aim to preserve these informational relationships, allowing players to learn not only what information is relevant but also how to use it to guide perception and action. Evidence for this relationship can be seen in research examining how different practice designs influence the informational demands placed on tennis players (L. Krause et al., 2019). Accordingly, practice tasks do more than shape movement behaviour; they also influence perceptual development by guiding what performers learn to notice, ignore, and act upon. Practice design, therefore, becomes a critical coaching responsibility, as the information embedded in training environments may shape future performance.
THE EDUCATION OF INTENTION
While the education of attention concerns learning what information is relevant, the education of intention concerns the goals and purposes that shape how performers interact with their environment. Intentions influence which affordances (opportunities for action) become meaningful and which sources of information are attended to during performance. Michaels et al. (2008) demonstrated that changes in intention altered the information participants attended to, suggesting that perception is shaped not only by the environment itself but also by the performer’s goals. Consequently, players operating within the same environment may perceive different opportunities for action depending on what they are trying to achieve. This suggests that intentions do not simply influence decision-making; they help shape perception itself.
This concept is particularly relevant within tennis. A player attempting to defend during a point may become attuned to time, space, and recovery opportunities. In contrast, a player looking to attack may attend to their opponent’s body position, court position, and available tactical opportunities. Although both players operate within the same environment, their intentions shape which informational variables become meaningful.
Furthermore, individual differences may also influence intentions and, consequently, attention. Consider two players receiving the same ball in the same location. One player may be physically stronger and favour an aggressive style of play, whereas another may be quicker and prefer to counter-punch. Despite occupying the same environment, they may perceive different affordances and organise their actions differently. What constitutes an opportunity for action for one player may not be perceived as such by another. Building on this idea, Whelan (2025) proposed that players’ intentions shape their attention, with different tactical intentions directing performers towards different informational variables within the environment. For this reason, coaches should seek to educate tactical intentions rather than simply prescribe technical execution, as intentions help shape the information players attend to and the actions that emerge.
Intentions can provide a practical framework for tennis coaching. Building on the relationship between intention, attention, and affordances, Whelan (2025) proposed an intention-led framework to support practice design and player development. Three interconnected intentions were presented: Jam, Stretch, and Survive. At its simplest level, tennis involves placing the ball where an opponent will struggle to return it. This often requires disrupting an opponent’s balance or movement organisation. Players may achieve this by forcing opponents to play outside their central line of balance (Stretch) or by restricting space and time around the body (Jam). Conversely, when players find themselves under pressure in either of these situations, their primary intention becomes to survive and remain at the point.
The Jam, Stretch, and Survive framework is particularly relevant from an ecological perspective because these intentions are directly linked to information available within the environment. Players can visually perceive when an opponent is stretched or jammed, detect changes in movement quality, observe recovery behaviours, and identify emerging opportunities for action. Likewise, players can recognise when they themselves are in a survival situation through changes in balance, available time, and court position. As a result, these intentions help direct attention towards information that is immediately relevant to performance. Rather than prescribing technical solutions, the framework provides a practical bridge between theory and coaching by encouraging players to become attuned to information that supports tactical decision-making and adaptive action.
WHY TRADITIONAL COACHING MAY EDUCATE THE WRONG ATTENTION
Traditional coaching approaches may unintentionally direct players’ attention towards information that is less relevant for competitive performance. From an ecological dynamics perspective, attention is shaped by interactions with the environment and by the intentions that guide action. Parry & O’Rourke (2023) highlighted how many traditional coaching approaches continue to be underpinned by assumptions that learning involves acquiring and refining ideal movement patterns. Similarly, Busuttil et al. (2024) found that accredited tennis coaches frequently relied upon demonstrations, verbal instruction, and technical correction when developing players. While these approaches may support technical understanding, they may also encourage players to attend primarily to movement mechanics rather than to the informational and tactical variables that govern performance in competition. Therefore, players may become increasingly sensitive to reproducing technical actions while having fewer opportunities to develop sensitivity to the environmental information that supports perception, anticipation, and decision-making during match play.
Many common traditional tennis drills omit information present in competition. The removal of the opponent, score, competitive consequence, and the continuous interaction between a player’s actions and their opponent’s responses eliminates several rich sources of information that normally regulate behaviour. Krause et al. (2019) found that many commonly used tennis drills failed to reproduce the behavioural and tactical characteristics observed during match play. Players exhibited different movement patterns, rally structures, shot selections, and tactical behaviours compared with competitive performance. These findings suggest that players may be adapting to the informational demands of the practice task rather than those encountered in competition. As a result, success in a drill may depend on attending to different informational variables than those required in match play. Players may therefore become attuned to information that supports success within the drill itself, while having fewer opportunities to develop sensitivity to the informational variables that regulate behaviour during competitive performance.
Ultimately, the issue may not be one of movement quality but of informational quality.
Players become skilled at solving the problems presented to them during practice. If practice environments consistently direct attention towards technical positions, prescribed movement solutions, or predictable task structures, players may become increasingly sensitive to those informational variables. However, the informational demands of competitive tennis are fundamentally different. Competition requires players to continuously perceive and act upon information emerging from the opponent, score, space, time, and tactical context. If the problems players solve during practice differ substantially from those encountered in competition, transfer may be limited regardless of how well movements are performed in training. This highlights the importance of RLD, as learning is shaped not only by what players do, but also by what they learn to notice.
HOW COACHES CAN EDUCATE INTENTION AND ATTENTION
- Preserve Opponent Interaction
Tennis coaches should seek to preserve one of the defining characteristics of competitive tennis: interaction with opponents. Opponents provide rich information that shapes players’ intentions, attention, and actions. Traditional coaching methods have often removed this source of information, directing attention towards technical form or movement execution. However, as discussed throughout this article, such approaches may limit players’ opportunities to become attuned to the informational variables that regulate performance in competition. Supporting this notion, L. M. Krause et al. (2019) compared unopposed and opposed serving practice and examined the extent to which behaviours transferred to match play. The findings demonstrated that the more representative the practice environment, the fewer behavioural differences were observed between practice and competition. The authors suggested that tennis serve-and-return practice could be enhanced by simulating competition-specific affordances. From the perspective of educating intention and attention, opponents provide critical information regarding positioning, movement tendencies, tactical opportunities, and emerging affordances. Players learn to detect and act upon these opportunities through interaction. The mere presence of another player does not automatically make practice representative. Opponents must be afforded opportunities to influence the unfolding dynamics of the task. When one player is reduced to the role of a passive sparring partner, opportunities for mutual adaptation may be diminished. Consequently, if coaches aim to educate perception that transfers to competition, representative practice should preserve a competitive opponent.
- Preserve Tactical Intentions
Tennis practice should be organised around the game rather than around technical models of performance. Practice design should prioritise the tactical problems that players are attempting to solve. Building on this idea, Whelan (2025)proposed an intention-led framework centred on three interconnected intentions: Jam, Stretch, and Survive. The framework provides coaches and players with a perceptually grounded language that can be applied across different ages and stages of development. By organising practice around tactical intentions, coaches may help direct players’ attention towards the informational variables that support successful performance.
For example, allowing the tramlines to be used during return-of-serve practice may encourage returners to search for opportunities to stretch the server. In response, the server must adapt by identifying solutions that limit the returner’s ability to exploit these spaces. This continuous interaction creates an environment rich in perception-action coupling, where intentions guide attention and players actively search the landscape of affordances for effective ways to achieve their goals. Rather than prescribing specific movement solutions, intention-led practice design encourages the emergence of adaptive behaviours shaped by the game’s evolving demands. Therefore, practice design should begin with the tactical intention players are attempting to fulfil, rather than the technical movements coaches hope to observe.
- Preserve Score and Consequence
One of the most influential constraints shaping player behaviour in tennis is the score. Beyond simply recording outcomes, the score may influence attention and the affordances players perceive as available to them. Den Hartigh et al. (2018) demonstrated that changes in psychological momentum influenced performers’ judgements of affordances. In their study, golfers attempting identical putts perceived different opportunities for action depending on whether they were experiencing positive or negative momentum. Participants experiencing positive momentum judged the task as more achievable than those experiencing negative momentum, even though the environment’s physical characteristics remained unchanged.
Within tennis, similar processes may occur. A player serving at 40–0 may perceive greater opportunities to take risks and play aggressively, whereas the same player serving at 15–40 while facing a break point may become attuned to different informational variables and adopt a more conservative intention. The physical environment remains the same; however, the score alters the competitive context and may influence what opportunities for action are perceived. As a result, the score functions as a critical informational constraint within tennis performance. Thus, practice environments should preserve meaningful scoring systems and competitive consequences if coaches wish to educate intentions and attentional processes that transfer to match play.
APPLIED PRACTICE DESIGN
The challenge for coaches is translating these ideas into everyday practice. Educating intention and attention does not require abandoning creativity or following rigid session plans. Rather, it requires designing environments that invite players to perceive and act upon the same informational variables they encounter in competition. Practice tasks should invite players to perceive and act in relation to opponents, score, tactical intentions, and emerging affordances.
The accompanying practice design resource provides a series of representative return-of-serve activities developed through this intention-led approach to coaching. Rather than prescribing technical solutions, each task is organised around a clear tactical intention, preserves key informational constraints of match play, and encourages players to search for adaptive movement solutions. Every practice begins with a serve, maintains opponent interaction, and is designed to challenge players to recognise and act on opportunities as they emerge in the game. The purpose of these designs is not to be copied exactly, but to serve as tools for thinking about how coaches might educate intention and attention within their own practice environments. As outlined throughout this article, players do not simply learn how to execute movements; they learn what information matters and how to act upon it.
CONCLUSION
Learning in tennis may be understood as more than the acquisition of techniques or the refinement of movement patterns. Contemporary perspectives grounded in ecological psychology and ecological dynamics suggest that performers become increasingly attuned to information that supports effective action within the game. From this viewpoint, skilled performance is shaped not only by what players can do, but also by what they learn to notice, how they interpret opportunities for action, and the intentions that guide their behaviour. The education of attention and intention, therefore, represents a fundamental aspect of player development.
Accordingly, for tennis coaches, this has important implications for practice design. Coaching environments influence the informational variables to which players become sensitive and the intentions they learn to pursue. Practice tasks that preserve opponents, score, tactical consequences, and meaningful game problems may provide richer opportunities for players to develop perception–action couplings that transfer to competition. Equally, practices that consistently direct attention towards technical positions or isolated movement solutions may unintentionally educate players to attend to information that is less relevant during match play.
Ultimately, coaching is not simply the process of teaching players how to execute strokes. Coaches shape what players learn to perceive, what opportunities they recognise, and how they organise their actions within the ever-changing demands of the game.
If coaching aims to develop adaptable performers capable of thriving in competition, coaches must carefully consider not only the movements they hope to observe, but also the intentions they seek to educate and the information they invite players to notice.
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Note: This is a pre-publication version of an article submitted for consideration by the PTR Coach Development Centre. Minor revisions may occur before any final published version.
Stephen Whelan
University of Winchester / My Tennis Coaching
