Confidence Problem

[wilsonplayer]

today i lost in the round of 16 in the connecticut high school state tennis tournament for class S schools to the number 2 seeded player. He is a solid player but a player that should not have bageled me the way he did. I have a serious confidence problem which is the reason i played horribly today. I'm 15 and have a very strong game but sometimes i already think that i have a chance of losing which is very bad. I never think that I'm definetly going to lose, but there is always this lingering doubt. I am a pessimistic person so not only do I not have a lot of confidence but also, when i lose, I don't take anything out of the match besides the fact that either i didn't play well or my opponent played well. I'm too shortsighted to see anything else that could potentially help my game. Is there anything I can do to help increase my confidence? I know I have the strokes to beat a lot of good players but when I get onto the court I forget sometimes that I have those strokes and I start questioning my ability. If anybody could help me, the advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[HyperHorse]

try and get your hands on some hypnotherapy cds...

 

[goober]

Sounds like your problem is mostly mental.

Have you tried listening to the Fearless tennis CDs? I thought they were pretty good. A lot of people suggest Inner Game of Tennis book.

Have you talked to your coach about it?

Do some searches on this forum there have been a lot threads on the mental game.

 

[Micky]

today i lost in the round of 16 in the connecticut high school state tennis tournament for class S schools to the number 2 seeded player. He is a solid player but a player that should not have bageled me the way he did. I have a serious confidence problem which is the reason i played horribly today. I'm 15 and have a very strong game but sometimes i already think that i have a chance of losing which is very bad. I never think that I'm definetly going to lose, but there is always this lingering doubt. I am a pessimistic person so not only do I not have a lot of confidence but also, when i lose, I don't take anything out of the match besides the fact that either i didn't play well or my opponent played well. I'm too shortsighted to see anything else that could potentially help my game. Is there anything I can do to help increase my confidence? I know I have the strokes to beat a lot of good players but when I get onto the court I forget sometimes that I have those strokes and I start questioning my ability. If anybody could help me, the advice will be greatly appreciated.

Hola wilsonplayer,

I think you should quit playing tennis. It seems that you don't have what it takes in sports: BALLS. (The same goes if you are a female player).

I can go on and on...but I am sure you have more of a sexual problem than a tennis problem.

Micky

 

[JCo872]

As much as I like Micky's answer , this is honestly an enormous problem in tennis that many juniors face. I think with team sports, the flow of matches/games is distributed among many people, and you have others to work with and to encourage you and to take the slack when you are playing poorly, or to compliment you when you are playing well.

In tennis it's very different. You are very much alone on the court. You are stuck with yourself. So the way you think about the match, yourself, and your opponent becomes crucial.

I think it would be very helpful for you to examine the thought processes you engage in right before and during a match. If you can write down those thoughts then you can analyze them and see what kinds of "thinking errors" you are making, which cause you to sell yourself short. Once you see how exaggerated and off those thoughts are, you can replace them with more realistic ones.

Any idea what kinds of thoughts run through your head right before a match?

Besides taking control of your negative thoughts, you also have to focus 100% on each ball being hit. Not the game. Not the set. Not the match. Not who is going to win. Not who is a better player. On each ball. Good players switch the focus from everything else to the ball coming at them, or to where they are going to hit that ball.

My other advice is for you to run, not walk, to the nearest bookstore and get Brad Gilbert's book "Winning Ugly". He is a master of the psychology of tennis. Another great book is "Learned Optimism" by Martin Seligman. He talks about how top athletes interpret their victories and mistakes. It's great stuff.

Good luck. Your problem is extremely common. But I think if you read those two books and work at improving your negative thoughts and interpretations, and switching your focus to that fuzzy ball, things will turn around for you quickly.

Jeff

 

[Jonny S&V]

I agree with JCo872 and that what he said is what I did this last season. I 've also learned that after a loss, I add an hour to my practice regiman (normally 2-3 hours), 2 hours if I got bageled in any set.