The WTA World No.5, Dominika Cibulkova, has spoken in depth about the positive and negative effects of pressure on her game.

The Slovak finished last season on a high after winning the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. However, after being knocked out in the third round at the Australian Open in January – the 25-year-old lost to Russian Ekaterina Makarova – she now feels heightened pressure.

“I didn’t feel good on the court. It was a little hard with all the pressure and all the media attention. I think that was why there were negative thoughts in my head. I wasn’t really enjoying my time on the court,” she wrote in a Straits Times column this week.

For the past two years, Cibulkova has been working closely with a mental coach in order to overcome match-day nerves – and the move is paying off.

Reflecting on the first two months of 2017, she said that she has been concentrating on turning negative thoughts into positive ones and enjoying the game.

“Dealing with pressure and nerves has always been a challenge for me throughout my career. Sometimes I want something so badly and the nerves come, especially in the tight moments.”

But it is a fine balance to strike and she is still working on balancing the increased expectations that accompany success.

“People think you just have to learn how to deal with pressure and expectations on court but that’s wrong. I make the goals smaller and then they become more manageable.”

In the lead-up to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, the eight singles players from last year’s edition will pen columns exclusively for The Straits Times. The monthly series begins with reigning champion Dominika Cibulkova – click here to read it in full.