Underhitting, overhitting

[don_budge]

Match Play…Balance, footwork and tactics (Preparation)

Some players don't relax until after they win. Tighter than congo drums but after enough matches won, somehow they start to believe they can win.

Pushing to win. Winning then leads to relax. Other players are like Laver or Becker. Just keep hitting it hard and if it goes in great.

I am having some trouble with tightness in matches that causes me to underhit and overhit. I know there is so much information out there on this including here on tennis player, but I haven't found much anything that helps, although focusing on breathing and not rushing does help a little bit.

I also have trouble even realizing that I am tight in the first place in the actual match. During a match, is there any way I can check on this? Today, at the end of a match that I lost 1 and 3. He hit the ball back to me after I missed on match point, and I wailed at the ball with a forehand and destroyed it. It was a better forehand than I hit the entire match, and that is where I noticed that I had previously been tight.

If I had to take a guess, I would say that my awareness is lacking because even in my day to day life I am quite scatterbrained, jumping around from task to task. I also ask a lot of questions in school and just think a lot in general.

How can I improve this all-important area of my tennis game?

Or does relaxing produce winning? Whichever…tennis is a game of energy and balance. Winning or losing is the outcome…and the tennis student needs to learn how to balance the outcome as well. After all in the beginning you are going to lose more than you will win…arriving at that balance point where you win as much as you lose is a huge step.

Just remember these lines from the Rudyard Kipling poem "If"…

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same.

I believe that these two lines are at the gateway to Wimbledon…or at least they used to. Maybe they are at the gate of the U. S. Open as well. The point is that you must get to this point somehow…where it isn't all about winning and losing. It's about doing your best…and raising the bar of your best ever so incrementally.

Once you are able to dispel with obsessions and illusions of winning you can set about to learn how to lose respectably. I am not saying that winning isn't the object of the game but you must learn how to play as if winning or losing doesn't matter anymore than going out and performing to the best of your ability. You hit that wonderful forehand at the end of your match because it didn't count…it didn't matter any longer.

You bring up a couple of interesting issues…one of overhitting and underhitting. Both of these issues are flip sides of the same coin. A lot of it has to do with nerves and when you are nervous too much of your energy goes to your head and not enough of it is in your feet where it needs to be. Do you see how over stressing about the results of a match plays havoc with performance? Experienced players have learned to accept the fact that there is going to be a winner and a loser more or less and they concentrate on doing the utmost to play and perform to the best of their ability.

If you can get your energy into your feet and clear your mind a bit you have done two things. Now your feet are engaged to do what they are supposed to do…to get your ass into position. If you get your butt in position then you are balanced and able to make the best possible swing at the ball. You can "hit out" as we used to say. If you are not in a balanced position then you are more than likely going to make some timid swings trying to protect or you are going to make swings that are too aggressive out of desperation. Many times this is because you are late or improperly set up to the ball.

In order to get your feet warmed up to the task at hand you must be physically warmed up as well as mentally. Take a measurement as to just how nervous you are and warm up your dancing toes accordingly. Do enough physical warmup to be able to start the warmup of your match as if you are already in the middle of the first set. Hit against the wall for twenty minutes and skip rope for 5 minutes. That way you are prepared to come out swinging from the opening bell or at least you are in a much better position to work on the "feeling out" process. Feeling out about what you are capable of on a given day and what your opponent is capable of as well.

Once the feet are engaged you should also concentrate on the position of your racquet when the ball bounces on your side of the court. Are your strings facing the wall in front of you? Are you watching the ball? They should be as this will enable you to seamlessly move towards the ball in an aggressive but not desperate manner. In other words…early on in the warmup process you are really focusing on the preparation phase of your swing.

Most points are won on errors in matches that are played at your level of the game so it is imperative that you are balanced and prepared to go forwards with your swing. Once you get yourself under control and able to handle the pace of your opponent you can start to think how you can maintain some semblance of pressure on him. Don't try to overwhelm him…take him down one step at a time. You are going to have to be patient and aggressive…now you can see why tennis is such a difficult game to master.

In the warmup you should be sizing up your opponent and developing a game plan depending on how his game appears to you. You must do an analysis of his relative strengths and weaknesses and try to figure out a way to exploit his weaknesses without allowing his strengths to get the better of you. Simple tactics may be to hit as often and as wide or deep on the backhand side and then once you have him over on the backhand side chase him back to the forehand…then back to the backhand side. If he is a baseliner…bring him to the net. The point is once you have an idea about what you are going to do beforehand you have that in your mind early enough and coupled with good preparation for your shots you can begin to implement your strategy and tactics.

But as we have discussed ad infinitum before…your footwork on your forehand side is going to give you problems in all this regard as it is my belief that the way that you set your feet is going to cause you problems getting into optimal position to swing. Technique is not necessarily the end in itself but it certainly is a huge contributor to the means to the end.

By the way eaglesburg…what is the score? What is power eaglesburg? With regard to this question remind yourself that control is power. What is control? Control is a combination of the following factors or elements…speed, spin and placement. In every given situation one of these elements will probably dictate the shape of your shot…or how hard you will hit it. Keep in mind that speed is just one of the elements…placement and spin are just as important. It is the proper combination of these three elements that will measure the effectiveness of your play…your shot.

Learn to get control of yourself and then you learn to control your shots. Once you control your shots you look to get control over your opponent…and the points. Once you have control of your opponent you control the match. Now you begin to learn how to get than infernal and obstinate horse in the barn.

[TheWatcher]

Some players don't relax until after they win. Tighter than congo drums but after enough matches won, somehow they start to believe they can win.

Pushing to win. Winning then leads to relax. Other players are like Laver or Becker. Just keep hitting it hard and if it goes in great.

[stotty]

Good comments....

I think don budge and John are right, bottle too. Plenty of practice sets are a must, and give yourself permission, a blank check if you like, to spend freely.

I never enjoyed playing matches when I was young, not really. I just enjoyed shaking hands when I had won. It was tension that was a killer for me. You simply cannot enjoy tennis nor play well if you are nervous and tense. It was only when I got older and more relaxed about the whole deal that I became much better at playing points and so came to enjoy matches.

Only when I came to view tennis matches like a game of chess did they became enjoyable to me. Working out how to win. Once I became immersed in strategy and tactics my nerves filtered away and I became far more relaxed. The "outcome" became much less important. Matches became much more about the moment.

But we are all different. This was my journey, which may not be yours.

I just love don budge's comment about developing a "feeling" for how to accomplish things on a court. This is so true...and can only be accomplished through lots of practice sets.

[don_budge]

Practicing, practicing while playing and playing to the score

I am having some trouble with tightness in matches that causes me to underhit and overhit.

If I had to take a guess, I would say that my awareness is lacking because even in my day to day life I am quite scatterbrained, jumping around from task to task. I also ask a lot of questions in school and just think a lot in general.

How can I improve this all-important area of my tennis game?

Underhitting? Overhitting? For any given situation there is a correct shot to be played within the context of your own game versus your opponent's game. The question is…how does one arrive at that conclusion? How does one arrive at that decision and then how does one go about execution of that shot? Our very own bottle suggests that you play lots and lots of matches…practice and otherwise. But practice matches are very important indeed. They are a meaningful rehearsal before you go out on the real stage.

Basically you have three situations when you are a student of the game and learning to be a tennis player. You have practice, playing while practicing and match play.

When you are practicing you are sorting out your technical thoughts and giving in to the process of analysis. At the same time you are trying to acquire "feel" which is in reality how this game was meant to be played. All of the endless discussions and thoughts about how to, have to somehow dissipate and become simply a feeling about how things are to be accomplished. When you are practicing I think that the average human being has room for just about one swing thought…maybe two if they are exceptionally intelligent. Practice something until you master it…so that you can do it without thinking. Just doing it. Just feeling it.

Practice while playing. Go out and play practice sets. Play games to ten where you are serving or you are receiving. Play games up to fifteen when you are not using the serve to start the point. Just a one bounce sitter to your opponents forehand. Then have your opponent serve the "one bounce sitter" to your forehand. Play this game on the backhand side. Now you are practicing playing to a score. If you are behind in a game…it's no use to give up.

Tennis is the rare game where the game is not over until the final point is played. Learn to play coming from behind and learn to play when you have the lead. Get used to the "feeling" that comes when being behind and plotting your way back into a match. Get used to the "feeling" of trying to close out an opponent. It isn't easy sometimes to get the proverbial horse in the barn. You have to practice this. A lot…until the cows come home. When practicing while playing there isn't much room for thought for a lot of technical stuff…just get the feet in position and watch the ball…racquet back early. Think about preparation perhaps. Preparation…preparation…preparation. Make it your mantra.

Finally there is match play. Now you have to factor in the nerves. Ok…after enough "practice" you should be able to still your mind, quiet your mind a bit regarding the technical thoughts. You really shouldn't need to worry about your technique at this point. Now you are only playing to the score. So…what is the score? What's the score eaglesburg? Next post…match play.

[don_budge]

Playing to the Score...

Would love to get your thoughts on Brad Gilbert's "The Set Up Point"

I loved this article. For me in the past, I would wander through singles matches, playing every point the same way in terms of going for it. Since reading this article though I've done a bit of experimentation and I've tried to balance my play, not going for broke on every single point, every single return, serve, shot.

Great article in the sense that each and every point is a set up point. Like every move in a chess match is a set up move.

Playing each and every point as a point that sets up the next point is a great way to keep your head in the match. The last thing that you need when playing a tennis match is for your mind to wander. You must understand when it is appropriate to attack...when it is appropriate to play defense. And when it is appropriate to neutralize.

Even in life...you gotta know the score. You gotta know where you stand...at any given moment. A lot of people sort of wander through life too...but that's a different story.

The most complete breakdown on how to play tennis by the score can be found in Bill Tilden's, How to Play Better Tennis...a complete guide to tactics and technique. Chapter three is Match Play Tactics and Tennis Psychology and in Chapter 16 Maintaining Pressure on Your Opponent is a must read for any serious tennis player or student of the game.

Playing to the score…"Even in life you gotta know the score."

[captnemo]

The last point is do not take the opportunity to beat yourself up if you still go negative--that's just another version of the same trap.

[eaglesburg]

Thank you guys for your suggestions.

John - I especially like the grading idea; it could help me see improvements over time and correlations between match results and my ability to focus on the process. I really like Jim's articles too.

[johnyandell]

By giving yourself permission to lose. And going out and giving yourself a grade in a match on your ability to stay in the process. It's always easy to relax after a match!

I suspect there is a lot of internal mental dialogue going on inside your head. Read the Jim Loehr article on from negative to positive.

Do you really have control of your between point rituals? There is nothing better than Jim's approach in those 2 articles on the 16 second cure.

[bottle]

Miles. Play more matches. Lose, win, re-group. Think about footwork, stroke production, "reading," planning-- anything to get head out of own navel.

[eaglesburg]

Hey guys,

I am having some trouble with tightness in matches that causes me to underhit and overhit. I know there is so much information out there on this including here on tennis player, but I haven't found much anything that helps, although focusing on breathing and not rushing does help a little bit.

I also have trouble even realizing that I am tight in the first place in the actual match. During a match, is there any way I can check on this? Today, at the end of a match that I lost 1 and 3. He hit the ball back to me after I missed on match point, and I wailed at the ball with a forehand and destroyed it. It was a better forehand than I hit the entire match, and that is where I noticed that I had previously been tight.

If I had to take a guess, I would say that my awareness is lacking because even in my day to day life I am quite scatterbrained, jumping around from task to task. I also ask a lot of questions in school and just think a lot in general.

How can I improve this all-important area of my tennis game?

Thanks!
Eaglesburg