battle nervousness against new opponent on new court

[tennis_hand]

hi,

what routine or tricks do you use to battle the nerves against new opponent on a new court? my struggle has more to do with the new environment rather than the opponent. and i get nervous, not moving and swing freely. any tips on overcoming this?

 

[blip]

Its the battle field you will use to beat your opponent and crush his heart on his home turf.

Know your game, it shouldn't change much no matter the court. It may change slightly from surface to surface.

Does that help?

 

[Ballinbob]

The only way I was able to overcome nervousness was to play more tournament matches. At one point the matches become routine and the stress doesn't bother you as much.

Also, can you elaborate on new environment? Do you mean a new surface or just the fact that you haven't played this guy before? Either way, I think the best thing to do is to keep playing competitive matches until none of this bothers you anymore

 

[mightyrick]

hi,

what routine or tricks do you use to battle the nerves against new opponent on a new court? my struggle has more to do with the new environment rather than the opponent. and i get nervous, not moving and swing freely. any tips on overcoming this?

This is where I echo Will Hamilton's sentiment about not focusing on the goal, but focusing on the process of playing a match. This is how I am able to keep calm.

If I am playing an unknown opponent (happens often) or on an unknown court (happens less often), I usually commit that the first two games of the first set will be dedicated to playing solid tennis, "getting to know my opponent" and "getting to know" the court. Commit that I am not going to shoot myself in the foot.

In this situation, for the first two games, I ordinarily will only use medium-tempo (or less) swings. Emphasizing not changing the direction of the ball. Emphasize spin over pace. Emphasize gently working a point over aggression.

I find that when you stay laser-focused on those things, it kind of makes you forget about the nervousness and newness of the situation.

 

[mikeler]

The only way I was able to overcome nervousness was to play more tournament matches. At one point the matches become routine and the stress doesn't bother you as much.

Also, can you elaborate on new environment? Do you mean a new surface or just the fact that you haven't played this guy before? Either way, I think the best thing to do is to keep playing competitive matches until none of this bothers you anymore

This is really the only way to do it. Play competitive leagues and tournaments. Basically any match that gets recorded or counts for something. Eventually like Bob said they become routine.

As for a new environment. Get there early. Don't just show up right at match time. Give yourself sometime to just chill, stretch and adapt to the new environment.

 

[10isfreak]

hi,

what routine or tricks do you use to battle the nerves against new opponent on a new court? my struggle has more to do with the new environment rather than the opponent. and i get nervous, not moving and swing freely. any tips on overcoming this?

This is partly a matter of confidence: can you trust yourself with the consequences of your choices? Maybe you'd need some work in this department which unfortunately comes with experience. As you likely can't wait to be as zen as a Buddhist monk, you'll need some tricks for your short run issue of being too tensed.

Personally, I tried to change my attitude toward the game. Speaking of probabilities, even using an appropriate approach to a specific situation -- one in which you often succeed --, you can still fail. Actually, you are bound to fail at least a few times. A match requires many shots, many point, many games -- with the point being that you should EXPECT a few mistakes. As you have to adapt to a new environment, you should also expect your average performance to be slightly less impressive than usual.