Best way to let it out...

[@wright]

What is your favorite way to get rid of some tension, do you let your racquet fly into the net or fence, give a good primal scream, pound your foot with your racquet, or smash your racquet? Let us know what you do for "on court therapy".

[brijoel]

usually just a quick hard racquet swing through open air. occasionally if it gets real bad, ill just drop the racquet (yes, just DROP) on the ground and mumble a "DAMN IT!". lol
i used to get ****ed all the time, and had to really work on it.

[Anonymous]

act like nothing happened, then on the next point hit the ball as hard as you can, hopefully it will be a winner

[cantaloupe]

I used to hurl racquets over the fence when i was younger, but that damages the paint and i'd look like a fool while looking for my rqcquet under a car ..... Next up was bouncing racquets, but soon the racquet bounced no more ..... Next up was hurling it in the air, which looks cool when i caught it .... After that i would just give it a good smash on the ground...i quickly learnt my lesson......

Now i just smack my hand against the strings, cheap and effective, but not as satisfying as smashing racquets.....then again my dad almost took all my racquets away from me.......

[Bungalo Bill]

I dont let any outbursts or racquet throwing happen. Gives to much insight about what is happening inside of me. It shows I am not in control of my emotions. Which means I am not focusing.

I will look at the point like this. If I made an execution error, I try to focus more but I encourage myself for making the right choice. If I make a bad choice, then I ask myself what should have happened, then go about doing it!

[Momo]

I take some big deep breaths. Not slow and relaxing like for meditation, but rather, forceful and focused breaths. It's the same thing I do just before a heavy set of lifting. It's a little ritual that gets me ready to mount a focused "attack" on the weights. I get a bit angry and the breathing itself physiologically gets your body into an enhanced state of awareness and preparation for action. It's like self-inducing a mini fight-or-flight syndrome which will get you both mentally and physically riled up to give your opponent a taste of hell on the next point. Use your emotions to your advantage rather than allowing them to vent forth untamed.

[Japanese Maple]

For me ,when I am frustrated I need to release that emotion by
throwing the racquet into the net-I need to get that frustration
out of my system to focus and play better. I feel in complete
control of my emotions when I do this and usually I play better
tennis because of it-I have know problem showing my opponent
that I am irritated and they soon realize that the brief outburst
does not affect my tennis at all, in fact it shows them that I care
and I am ready to dig my heals in and do battle. Once in a blue
moon I will purposely throw the racquet and miss the net and
nearly decapitate the opponent as I yell "watch out"-this totally
unnerves them and I usually turn the match around and win.
Hey, it works for McEnroe,Conners,Becker,Agassi,Natassi,ect.

[brijoel]

remind me not to ever schedule a match with you if im ever in pittsburgh japanese maple....lol

[Camilio Pascual]

I take an attitude of condescending bemusement at myself. I can criticize myself without the consequent anger. When I miss yet another dtl BH, I'll say something like, "Now, that wasn't so good now, was it?", to myself. Then shrug it off and get to the next point. I'm aware that I'm putting on a show for the opponent, whether I intend to or not. So, I'll reveal what I want to him, and I don't want to reveal frustration and anger.

[jmckinney]

When I get mad is usually when I am playing great for some reason. I will be winning like 4-0 against someone and then they hold serve and it sets me off and I break the racket by throwing it as hard as I can to the court or off the side wall if indoors. I never get upset if I am not playing well, or just getting beat. I don't get it, maybe I need help.

[LittleMAC]

I usually just give a nice yell... and once in a while I will drop my racquet, but not often. If I'm REALLY heated up then i will throw my racquet into the net, but that RARELY ever happens. I know it gives away how I'm feeling to my opponent, but it sure helps me let off some steam and allows me to recouperate.

[@wright]

Interesting tactic, Momo.

[Hyperstate]

When I get angry at myself for missing some shots, I just try harder! analyse what went wrong, and correct it. I've learnt that this is the best way to manage anger cos I don't want to take a whack at the next ball and give my opponent ANOTHER point

[david7410]

When I started playing, I had quite a temper on the court. I would either smack my racquet on the ground, or if I was really ****ed, launch it straight up into the sky. My racquet abusing days are over though, ever since I upgraded to something better than a 20 dollar POS from Big 5. Knowing that my racquet cost me almost 200 bucks was enough to stop me from smashing it. The most I do now it just swipe the air.

Now that I understand the game mechanics a little better, I can usually tell what caused my error and try to go from there... just a quick mumble to myself, and then I move on.

[ucd_ace]

I go with bouncing my racquet on its head for most cases. Just drop it down, it pops back up, grab it... nice and simple. Sometimes I'll miss the grab and it goes down to the ground creating a nice mix up. You don't hurt your racquet that much and you get the point of frustration across as everyone notices when a racquet hits the ground. Under extreme situations, my racquet will go flying into a fence or the net; this helps protect your racquet as you can throw it as hard as you want and no structural damage will be caused as the net or fence cushions the blow and it hits the fence and fall downs with the force of meerly having your racquet dropped from that point to the ground. A lot of players think that they are better people for not throwing their racquet or whatever but I think it's fun. It's all part of the show; on the tennis court it's fun to take up a persona and run with it. Personally, if I'm reacting to every point like that it really keeps my mind in the match.