Tennis has a massive mental component: Your stories

[jryle1]

There are so many different components that make up the game of tennis. There's the technical side, the tactical side, the physical training, the mental game and within those realms there's many sub-components. The mental side of the game is a really interesting one and I thought it would be cool to share everyones different "struggles", experiences, god mode experiences etc. What are the strange things that you see in your game?


For me, I have the weirdest experiences. I would consider myself a doubles specialist, although it's probably the wrong word to use, "a hell of a lot better at doubles than singles" would be a more accurate description. Some of my experiences are strange, for instance:

1. I rarely play a bad doubles match in live competition. Generally I'm all over the place, I have an incredibly good record in league for my club, have made the finals of some open tournaments, and can generally play above my level in doubles matches. I just zone whenever I play. I recently did some sessions with a guy who's hovering between 130 and 150 ATP doubles and that's improved that side even more, but mentally I never have a problem.

2. When I play practice matches in doubles I play awful. I'm unmotivated, mis-time everything, can't focus, shank for fun, it's ridiculous.

3. When I do doubles specific drills in training I generally do them quite well and play very well. I tend to be motivated, in the zone at times and just timing it to perfection.

4. When I do Singles specific drills in training I'm terrible, I'm inconsistent, bored, and not motivated.

5. When I play singles practice sets/matches I tend to play quite well. There's no pressure and I tend to strike it quite cleanly, not afraid to hit over backhands, come in, stay in rallies.

6. When I play live competition matches in Singles I'm awful. I overplay completely, I get extremely tight, I start chipping and slicing everything, I double fault and push serves and the ball. I overhit.


I was just having a thing about it on the way home in the car and found it interesting and strange. Interesting that some aspects of the game people do quite well and yet when they're put in a similar situation it's completely different.

What are your biggest pet hates/favourites when training or playing? What are the things that drive you mad? Did you ever have one experience where you just completely zoned?

A lot of the time when I watch the top 8 players in the world I wonder "How did they lose, how are they playing like this? Their technique and game is almost perfection, how is that happening to them? And then I realise that no matter how well grooved their game is, at the end of the day they're like us, they're human, and they have their ups and downs like we do, and do well or not so well in the different situations.

The psychology of it all is pretty interesting. Any similar experiences?

[GeoffWilliams]

I call it jamming yourself. The body gets jammed, tight, makes stiff what was fluid. When this happens you can lose to anyone, even a good 4.0 pusher type. Why does it happen? People say it's mental, but that's like saying the sun was not shining. HOw does the mind over come the body so easily and so often? What is the solution to the self jam? It comes down to the under lying belief/and or lack of belief in the unconscious, and it's unconscious because you are not aware of the cause, only the effect of the self jam. Tightness. Over hitting. Missing easy shots. Bad strategy/ies. Missed first serves. Missed easy returns, volleys, over heads, you don't normally miss when not jamming self. The psych experts will tell you to visualize, to breath, to relax. For a good player like you, the real solution is a lot of reps, while trying too hard, and intentionally jamming your self, missing everything, no second shots, and to simply notice what's happening, and to believe that the high reps will allow you to break out of the pattern. So you have to buy into the psychology of suffering through it will allow you to go through the dark tunnel and out the other end one day.

My experience while zoned is what I call the ability to time stagger, to stagger time so that it feels as if there is far more time than normally felt, as if the ball is moving slower, and I am moving faster, while feeling relaxed and normal, yet moving very fast no matter what the incoming shot speed/rpm/pace/weight, and still feeling the shot before it's been hit by me, as if I'm hitting shots before I have actually made contact, and seeing the shot through the body/eyes of my partner/opponent, and seeing me as well as if I am them. This allows me to hit heavy shots with great disguise, as I can see what they see and feel what they feel before I have hit my shot.

Nfl quarter backs all talk about time staggering. 2.3 seconds feels like 6 seconds. They pat the ball before they throw it, as if they have already thrown it. And they have. Feel the shot before it's been hit and focus on that is the way to practice the zone. It's a timing skill.

[gzhpcu]

I find that if you say apriori "I am awful at singles training", "I do badly in singles competition", you are really conditioning negatively your subconscious mind as John Newcombe says in his interview this month.

You need a positive attitude. Smile. Enjoy what you are doing. When training singles, have a goal of what you want to work on. Don't look at it negatively as being boring. That will torpedo you from the start. Tell yourself, for example, "today I want to work on my unit turn", or I want to hit the ball back and forth over 50 times, get into a Zen-like state.

Same thing for competition. When on court, turn off your active mind. Take deep breaths. Enjoy the challenge. Don't think of past defeats.

That is my advice. Be happy!

[jryle1]

Yeah, it's interesting hearing everyones different opinions on how they feel in different circumstances. I just thought it would be an interesting discussion because well, there's always a lot of talk about the psychology of preparing for a competition and preparing for a match and also what to do in a match but there's not much discussion about the psychology of different training elements of the game as well as match play.

I can relate to that feeling of zoning Geoff. You feel limitless, like you can do anything. It's an awesome feeling.

And very interesting post Geoff. It's an interesting idea, the jamming unconsciously.

Phil, yeah, that's an interesting point. I've noticed that before. I was having a hit and was focusing on one thing and it helps you get into that zone.

At the end of the day, having fun is the key, it always makes it easier.

[don_budge]

Preparation…preparation…preparation.

I just thought it would be an interesting discussion because well, there's always a lot of talk about the psychology of preparing for a competition and preparing for a match...

At the end of the day, having fun is the key, it always makes it easier.

A real estate agent's mantra is location…location…location. A tennis player's mantra is preparation…preparation…preparation.

I'm not certain that "fun" is the correct word. It isn't strong enough…or tough enough. If you know what I mean. I can think of another word that begins with "f" and has four letters. Total engagement and hitting on all cylinders. Full machine. Peak performance…being in the moment and nowhere else. Smile? Through all of that blood, sweat and tears? Maybe a stone hard grimace. See Roger's face?

[klacr]

Just focus on the execution, not the outcome.

When all else fails, move your feet. Your feet are the ignition to the rest of your game. It's amazing how much you can accomplish with good footwork and little else. Remember, your feet are connected to the brain.

Embrace the process of learning, improving and competing. Don't look at it as a chore or struggle. Look at it as continuously building a better product.

Last but not least, play with a purpose.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton