Mental Training/Frustration Tips?

[ilikephobo]

I have a habit i need to change. whenever i have a bad day i just go Marat Safin on my racquets. ( well not quite, i dont want to break them. ) I tried googleing it. and the tips i found were to have some sort of "Script" on positive things to say in certain situations...What do you guys do when you guys are getting frustrated. how do you keep a good mind throughout the whole game. i feel that my mental game is holding me back.

[Kostas]

Honestly if you're serious about improving your perspective I would recommend learning about Zen.

There are many, many books out there at all different levels that can help you sculpt a different outlook on life in general that would no doubt help with your mental game.

Just my .02.

[jmverdugo]

Keep focused on an specific strategy to play your points:

Instead of thinking: oh I am ging to double fault! think: I am going to serve wide to his bh and then go around my bh and hit a fh dtl. Stuff like this helps me to keep my mind on the match. Also to keep your mind on the point make yourself to think and to anticipate possible answers from your opponent. For instance if you take your opponent out of the court think: maybe he will hit a short ball back let me take a few steps into the court...

If you have problems think about what to do to solve the problem: maybe I should take a few steps back, maybe I sohuld hit with more topspin, maybe I should just push the ball back for a few points, etc...

Obviously this happens within seconds but in my case it really helps me.

[thejackal]

I have the same problem. I was getting thrashed in a practice match by an ex ranked junior in morocco, when he said something really interesting to me. He said, "you're afraid of playing badly, which is a self-fulfilling prophecy."

[LuckyR]

I have a habit i need to change. whenever i have a bad day i just go Marat Safin on my racquets. ( well not quite, i dont want to break them. ) I tried googleing it. and the tips i found were to have some sort of "Script" on positive things to say in certain situations...What do you guys do when you guys are getting frustrated. how do you keep a good mind throughout the whole game. i feel that my mental game is holding me back.

In my experience using tips and tricks to not destroy racquets will help you not destroy racquets but will not lead to a better Mental Game since you are just changing the outward expression of the emotional aspect that leads in the vast majority of players to a rapid loss.

I would recommend a complete rethinking of why you are out there on the court and a better understanding of why playing poorly makes you so mad. If that is accomplished you won't be angry in the first place so you won't need any tips and tricks to stop destroying your stick.

For many if not most of the players who get emotional with repetitive poor play, the reason is more ego driven. That is, they have a mental picture of what their "normal" level of play quality is. Often it is made up like a highlight reel of their best shots. When their play in reality doesn't match up with this expectation they get embarrassed and then angry. The fact that this anger leads to losing faster is not part of the equation. They aren't out there to win, they are out there to defend their notion of their play quality.

Once many folks understand this and decide to play to win matches and not to provide an ego massage, the anger evaporates.

Good luck.

[tenniscool]

Keep focused on an specific strategy to play your points:

Instead of thinking: oh I am ging to double fault! think: I am going to serve wide to his bh and then go around my bh and hit a fh dtl. Stuff like this helps me to keep my mind on the match. Also to keep your mind on the point make yourself to think and to anticipate possible answers from your opponent. For instance if you take your opponent out of the court think: maybe he will hit a short ball back let me take a few steps into the court...

If you have problems think about what to do to solve the problem: maybe I should take a few steps back, maybe I sohuld hit with more topspin, maybe I should just push the ball back for a few points, etc...

Obviously this happens within seconds but in my case it really helps me.

hey man thanks for these great tips! I'm using em next time im on court :]

[maverick66]

I have the same problem. I was getting thrashed in a practice match by an ex ranked junior in morocco, when he said something really interesting to me. He said, "you're afraid of playing badly, which is a self-fulfilling prophecy."

i was told once that i expected to win every point. when i won points i just went right on to the next one like it was nothing but when i lost i freaked out because i never thought i should lose a point.

At some point you gotta learn to release your frustration. For a long time i smashed rackets or threw them all over but that didnt make me better. I started yelling certain phrases at myself and it would either get me back into focus or make me laugh. Sometimes you gotta accept that your gonna miss your shots or your opponent is gonna make theirs. You have to focus on winning the next point not what you did on the point before.

[ci2ca]

I have had this same problem. Negativity had taken control of me on the court. My cure? I took it off the court. This might be a little extreme but it worked for me and would like to thank my team mates as well. I did 10 pushups on the spot for any negative thing I said or did. No matter when and where. I did them. I once had to get up in the middle of a nice restaurant and do pushups because I said something negative. Like I said, this might be a little extreme but it worked for me. On the court, I lose a point, I let go. It's hard at first but it becomes a habit. Good luck to all!

[Failed]

I have a habit i need to change. whenever i have a bad day i just go Marat Safin on my racquets. ( well not quite, i dont want to break them. ) I tried googleing it. and the tips i found were to have some sort of "Script" on positive things to say in certain situations...What do you guys do when you guys are getting frustrated. how do you keep a good mind throughout the whole game. i feel that my mental game is holding me back.

: ) Easy to way to no get furstrated is to think that its just a point. It is just this day when you are playing bad. Don't worry about it. Between points look at your racket strings and focus on them instead of furstration. By having tantrums and smashing rackets you are feeding your own furstration. Also, don't mock yourself when you hit a bad shot, it happens.

[ilikephobo]

i tried thinking about a strategy last night when i played. it was great. and whenever i lost a point i would applaud my opponent. thanks for the advice guys. keep em coming!

we'll make a mixture of all the strategies and turn it into one supreme mental control strategy!

[fuzz nation]

Good for you!

LuckyR nailed it I think - if you can keep your expectations in touch with reality, you'll be able to keep working on what you want to do, even when you miss a shot or have a bad day. And you will miss a shot and have a bad day at some point down the road just like the rest of us.

Just recognize that rising frustration as no more than a detour for your concentration. When I get a sense of that anger creeping in, I've come to understand it in the same way as some of the gamesmanship that I may see in a match - it's nothing more than a petty distraction that I can't waste my attention on.

Letting things affect you is a choice and it sounds like you're learning to stay in charge of yourself. Stay aware and keep it up.

[ilikephobo]

yeah like today playing some australian doubles. not my best day for my serve. its been up and down. So i ended up losing twice due to double faulting... -.- but i kept my cool and every time i messed up i focused even harder. and when i ended up coming in 2nd after i had the early lead i kept a cool mind, usually when i lose i shake my head in dissapointment and you can really tell it by my body language. not that i enjoyed losing =P

[halalula1234]

i get angry and then i get more focused

[ilikephobo]

man i was having a good day today controlling my emotions and mental game. until my serve finally broke...i got really mad. -.- ahh i failed xD

[Babo]

drink heavily...or at least plan to after every big match, then you have in the back of your mind that you'll have fun later no matter what the outcome, either that or take medication. If you have a bad shot and go ape **** then tennis is probably not the best sport for you.

[ilikephobo]

meh im not old enough to drink. haha i heard thats what andy roddick does when he loses :P

[Babo]

meh im not old enough to drink. haha i heard thats what andy roddick does when he loses :P

LOL i wouldn't doubt it, I reckon there were a few matches when he was drinking during :-?

[ilikephobo]

lol, played a tournament today. was down 0-3 but i just relaxed and whooo 8-4 :D

[prattle128]

In my experience using tips and tricks to not destroy racquets will help you not destroy racquets but will not lead to a better Mental Game since you are just changing the outward expression of the emotional aspect that leads in the vast majority of players to a rapid loss.

I would recommend a complete rethinking of why you are out there on the court and a better understanding of why playing poorly makes you so mad. If that is accomplished you won't be angry in the first place so you won't need any tips and tricks to stop destroying your stick.

For many if not most of the players who get emotional with repetitive poor play, the reason is more ego driven. That is, they have a mental picture of what their "normal" level of play quality is. Often it is made up like a highlight reel of their best shots. When their play in reality doesn't match up with this expectation they get embarrassed and then angry. The fact that this anger leads to losing faster is not part of the equation. They aren't out there to win, they are out there to defend their notion of their play quality.

Once many folks understand this and decide to play to win matches and not to provide an ego massage, the anger evaporates.

Good luck.

hmm, that's actually a very interesting way of looking at it, and perhaps might help me a little (my anger is inward, but still i can get pretty frustrated at times, so i think that this might help). thanks much for the advice!

[LuckyR]

hmm, that's actually a very interesting way of looking at it, and perhaps might help me a little (my anger is inward, but still i can get pretty frustrated at times, so i think that this might help). thanks much for the advice!


Don't mention it. We have all played the corollary of the player I described: the player who never gets mad and hits out on every shot. The strokes look great with fantastic pace but land out. The guy is easy to beat by playing a high percentage game (because they play a low percentage game), but they aren't upset by the loss because they played "correctly" even if they lost.

[darthfed101]

Do you you think you may be bringing other frustration with you on the court? IMHO, to become more calm and composed on the court you need to be that way in everyday life. Just a thought....

[ilikephobo]

Do you you think you may be bringing other frustration with you on the court? IMHO, to become more calm and composed on the court you need to be that way in everyday life. Just a thought....

i dont get angry very often in real life. but sometimes annoyed over dumb things. for some reason, untangling tangled things tick me off. thats what happens when i clean my room =P

[Majik]

I have a habit i need to change. whenever i have a bad day i just go Marat Safin on my racquets. ( well not quite, i dont want to break them. ) I tried googleing it. and the tips i found were to have some sort of "Script" on positive things to say in certain situations...What do you guys do when you guys are getting frustrated. how do you keep a good mind throughout the whole game. i feel that my mental game is holding me back.


You have to keep in mind that's the name of the game. The intent is to get your opponent out of his comfort zone, to find a weakness an exploit it. That means you are diliberately trying to explicitly frustrate your opponent so he doesn't play as well. So don't get so mad when losing because that's just a signal to your opponent to keep doing whatever frustrates you.

[ilikephobo]

You have to keep in mind that's the name of the game. The intent is to get your opponent out of his comfort zone, to find a weakness an exploit it. That means you are diliberately trying to explicitly frustrate your opponent so he doesn't play as well. So don't get so mad when losing because that's just a signal to your opponent to keep doing whatever frustrates you.


yeah that sounds good, man, also when i do some rallying with the worst player on our team i get really annoyed and mad. hes been playing for his whole life and hes horrible... absolutely horrible. he could never keep a rally over 3 shots back and forth. i do feel like an jerk though when i get annoyed when he does bad -.-

[5263]

hey man thanks for these great tips! I'm using em next time im on court :]

You just have to focused on what you intend to do. Only think about what you just did poorly in the context of how you are going to adjust it next time.

[ilikephobo]

yeah, after ever error. i always say to myself what i needed to do. it helps.