AskPro-Apr08

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MANLY LAWN
TENNIS CLUB

Belgrave & Raglan Streets
PO Box 162
Manly NSW 2095
(02) 9977 6023
Email Manly Lawn
Tennis Club

USPTA Video Tips

Ask The Pro: Losing is Demoralising?

It’s just so demoralising losing match after match. What can I do to turn things around?

Yes, it can be a bit depressing when you’re on an extended match-losing streak. Particularly when you’ve hit up so well, have a basic game plan worked out, and are playing with your regular dubs partner. And you know you’re more than competitive with your opposition yet at the end of the match, it’s them at the net smiling, waiting to shake hands – and you’re left wondering what went wrong??

The short answer: match play is a ‘mental game’ and much different from practice play and hitting where there’s nothing on the line. Match play is about a competitive mindset and concentration – attention to the ball. It’s not about executing strokes; it’s about competing, and keeping your mind under control.

Most hitters fixate on hitting the shot right, and worrying about what the opposition’s latest comment on a line call really meant, and whether they’ll screw the shot up if they go for the volley, miss it and infuriate their partner, etc, etc, etc. That, in the end, is not really playing a match. Instead you’re messing about inside your head and not really focusing on the moment at all! Or rather, you’re letting your opponents mess with your head and making your life on a tennis court a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’, albeit a negative one.

Many years ago, a guy named Tim Gallwey wrote a book called the “Inner Game of Tennis”. He wrote about Self 1 and Self 2 – the thinking brain (the one that messes with your head) and the unconscious mind (the one that gets you into the ‘zone’). Since that time, tennis psychology has come a long way. Just watch the pattern behaviors of Sharapova, Nadal, and Djokovic. Each has his or her own calming routine, with Djokovic’s 20+ ball bounce routine being the epitome. He has been taught to always be settled as much as possible before starting a point.

OK, you say, can I do this when I'm really frustrated? Well, yes you can, if you can take your ‘mental pulse’. I have a good friend in California who was surprised to learn that his physical pulse jumped 20 points when he made an error. Imagine the amount of cortisol being injected into his system and hyping him up! With a racing pulse he just wasn’t ready to play the next several points. We settled on a simple psych approach of putting a name (‘Hyde’) to his behaviour to help him recognize when he was in this state, and this helped him get back to his more competitive ‘Jekyll’ mode.

And yes, while it may take some time to learn how to take your ‘mental pulse’, it will certainly pay dividends in improving your ability to compete. You may not win every match but at least you’ll gain satisfaction in knowing that you didn’t beat yourself.

So hang in there, and eventually you’ll have a breakthrough at some point in your mental game and take your competitive game to the next level. And you’ll get a bonus, a life skill!

Ask The Pro: When Should I Attack or Defend?

I hit the ball fairly well but often am unsure of whether to 'attack' or 'defend' while playing a point. What's a basic strategy to make this choice simple?

Ninety percent of players spend their time on court trying to improve their technique, and particularly so when their serve or backhand breaks down under pressure or they commit a lot of errors. Often the "cure" suggested by their pro is more stroke lessons to either improve the suspect stroke or cut down on errors. The next 9% or so figure out what the strengths of their game are: strong serve, volley, forehand weapon, speed around court, and try to play their strength(s) as much as possible against their opponent's weakness. In case you have been doing the maths, the last 1% have actually figured out how to play/adjust against their opponent's game.

Regardless of your strengths, your basic game starts with a clear understanding of when to 'attack' or 'defend' since ultimately success in tennis goes to the player who hits the ball over the net and into the court the last time! The so-called 'pusher' understands this very well and wins when his/her opponent overplays the ball -- and their errors and frustration increase exponentially .

Many years ago, Billie Jean King wrote about a simple 'traffic light strategy' of dividing the court into green (safe), yellow (caution) and red (danger) zones. The strategy was based on a player's ability to get close enough to the net to safely hit down on the ball. Here's a simple figure I prepared some time ago to illustrate the basic principle:

It's fairly obvious that a taller player has an obvious advantage by being able to see 'over the net' from deeper in the court. It also follows why the pusher wins if you are trying to constantly attack from the baseline -- the odds are stacked against you! You'll have noticed that in the modern game, the top players use more topspin to drive the ball up and over the net when closer to the baseline to overcome the disadvantage of being deeper in the court. To be certain you understand the principle here's a side view:

Hence, the simplest game plan of all then, is to figure out where your red, yellow, and green zones are and play accordingly. When in the red zone, defend and keep the ball in play; in the yellow zone, hit approach shots to take control of the net by moving into your green zone. When in the green zone with a ball bouncing higher than the net, attack! This game plan also goes by another name -- percentage tennis! It may not be spectacular as 'first strike tennis', but success has a nice warm feel to it!