How can I stop this?

[tsongaali]

So I have been playing for about 5 years, this year being my 4th year on our highschool tennis team. I am seeded one for my team, and thusfar my record was pretty good (4-2), the two losses coming one from a guy who will most likely be the first seed at our district tournament, the other due to me choking.

I have had mental issues all my life in tennis. I never get nervous for anything else (tests, public speeches) but I just can't stop getting nervous in matches. I started to improve my mental game for a while, up to the point where I thought I finally conquered it until yesterday.

I was 6-2, 5-0 up against a guy at our match yesterday. I previously had beaten him 6-2, 6-4 and this time I was playing so much better. However, once I got to 5-0, he played one really good point, and after that I just suddenly forgot how to hit a forehand (my best weapon).

It was so spontaneous, and I couldn't figure out what happened. I tried loosening up, breathing deep breaths, forgetting about the score, trying to be consistent, but my forehands all landed in the net or in the fence.

Long story short I lost 7-5, 6-1 in the end because I had just gone away mentally. I felt like quitting tennis. This was the worst choke I had ever done, and I really wish I could have smashed some racquets (no sponsorship)

What can I do? It's so frustrating that while I can always improve my technique, I can never improve my mental game. I have played so many matches that I thought I would get used to it, but that just isn't the case. If you need more details I will be happy to answer. TY

 

[LeeD]

Nobody ever gets over the nervousness, the butterflies, IF the match has meaning to you. It happens to Nadal, Fed, DJ, and the rest.
You gotta get mad at losing, then you decide for yourself to avoid the walkabout distracted BS of losing, force the OTHER guy to walkabout and become distracted, and then you begin to win.
Every great player lost sooooo often they were sick and tired of losing, so did what they did to stay in the match even when playing the craps.
If your forehand went away, play a slice forehand, like a volley, and run your opponent around with soft, underspin angles and dropshots.
If your serve goes away, hit seconds, and if that goes away, just get it in to their weaker returning side.
For every problem, there is a solution. You just have to think it through and find it.
Nadal won recently, said he played like crap and couldn't move well, ......but he perservered and overcame his obstacles.

 

[tsongaali]

Nobody ever gets over the nervousness, the butterflies, IF the match has meaning to you. It happens to Nadal, Fed, DJ, and the rest.
You gotta get mad at losing, then you decide for yourself to avoid the walkabout distracted BS of losing, force the OTHER guy to walkabout and become distracted, and then you begin to win.
Every great player lost sooooo often they were sick and tired of losing, so did what they did to stay in the match even when playing the craps.
If your forehand went away, play a slice forehand, like a volley, and run your opponent around with soft, underspin angles and dropshots.
If your serve goes away, hit seconds, and if that goes away, just get it in to their weaker returning side.
For every problem, there is a solution. You just have to think it through and find it.
Nadal won recently, said he played like crap and couldn't move well, ......but he perservered and overcame his obstacles.

I understand what you mean, but isn't doing this just going to make you always have to devolve your playing style so you can never play your normal game?

Also, I have just suddenly forgot how to hit a forehand. I couldn't get it in at all during practice today. And this was just practice, no pressure at all. Ever since the terrible match yesterday I have just had amnesia for my forehand. I really don't understand whats going on.

 

[LeeD]

Maybe you haven't played enough tennis to OWN a style, a forehand, or any other stroke?
If you played 6 days a week, 3 hours a day with good form for 4 years, your strokes just don't go away. They will miss pinpoint accuracy under pressure, but not miss every time. You can just aim more center, and most shots will go in.
If you haven't played that amount of time, your shots can certainly disappear for days at a time.

 

[dozu]

5 year playing with 4th year on school team, doesn't quite add up, so you get on the team only 2nd year into playing tennis - either you are a really fast learner, or the team was really short handed.

anyway - agreeing with Lee, sounds like you have some flaw that cause your stroke to break down.... and typically, stiff, musclely motions are the first to go.

I have a magic pill to cure that.

 

[olliess]

If you played 6 days a week, 3 hours a day with good form for 4 years, your strokes just don't go away. They will miss pinpoint accuracy under pressure, but not miss every time. You can just aim more center, and most shots will go in.

Agree. You want to be able to train yourself to hit your shots under the most extreme pressure. If they aren't that perfect on that day, then you should be able to aim for the center of the court and at least they should go in that way until you get comfortable going for more.

If you fall off your bike for days at a time then you don't know how to ride a bike yet. Same with your forehand.

How to work on this: develop repeatable, smooth strokes that you can do when you are practically unconscious. Force yourself to make the same smooth, full strokes while you're struggling. Concentrate on making 100% effort with your feet. Emphasize repeatability and consistency over winners. This will pay off.

 

[dpg]

With this experience, you can not be worse in future.
So next time you will only improve, at lease, result wise.

 

[fuzz nation]

Concentrate on making 100% effort with your feet. Emphasize repeatability and consistency over winners.

I pretty much agree with everyone, but I like this thought. I doubt that you honestly went from having your solid forehand to being completely incapable of producing one after a single point. Sounds to me like you started thinking about it. Game over. We can't actively think our way through an action like a forehand and repeat a useful stroke.

That's why we must practice. It's a matter of loading that muscle memory into our brains so that we can recall it in competition without consciously willing our way through the motion. I quoted our pal olliess because that idea can help to get your head out of the way when you're in the middle of a match. With your focus on your feet, it can get your attention off of your upper half and free up your stroke.

Now for the big picture. You need to confront your tennis expectations - maybe actually write them down - and see whether they're in alignment with reality. Will your skills abandon you on occasion at an inconvenient time in the future? You bet they will!!! Learn to expect this so that it's not as big a deal when it happens. You'll be able to keep going if you don't get so rattled.

If you want to keep learning and growing your game, recognize that demon that sneaks into your head and tries to turn you into a racquet breaking drama queen. I'm not berating you; I've been there, too. That's a complete mental cop out though, and won't help you to accomplish anything on the courts, since it locks your focus onto nothing more than your errors. Learn to sense that panic creeping in and laugh it off - it can't help you unless you want to embarrass yourself. See that check out for what it is.

 

[Donny0627]

From experience, I can say that the choking may be a attributed to just getting too overconfident towards the end of the match. Yea, i've been there, up 6-0 3-0, and im thinking about what I'm gonna eat afterwards. "wow, mcdonalds sounds good", "hey look the scores 3-2"... The solution is simple, no matter how far ahead you are, you have to STAY FOCUSED, but at the same time, you can't think about your shots too critically. Even if you have to tell yourself before every point, "you have to win this point" "you have to win this point" trust me, it's worth it...

 

[andy_carterbx]

Yes aiming for the center of the court would be the best solution for now. At least it would go in until you finally get your stroke. By the way, I found this short article about ways to have a consistent tennis serve. Check it out and let me know if this would help. I have other articles regarding tennis tips.

http://www.i-newswire.com/4-step-action-plan-to-improve-your/98245c

 

[Sreeram]

Yes, I would also suggest aiming the middle with your FH rather than trying to slice FH. But it depends on your opponents level, if they can stay steady and hit your FH into corners then let them do it to win. Down 5-0 your opponent should have some kind of pressure in him that will prevent him from painting the lines and making mistakes.
If you are playing a low level guy then what the heck just put the ball in like Leed suggested. I dont think at high school level you will be playing any guy of such a low level.
I once heard a best cricketer of all time talk in his interview that many times he walks in to bat he gets the feel that he forgot all his shots but he lets his instincts play and those matches he scores well. He says it is a lovely feel to have and it helps you to let your muscle memory talk.

 

[tsongaali]

5 year playing with 4th year on school team, doesn't quite add up, so you get on the team only 2nd year into playing tennis - either you are a really fast learner, or the team was really short handed.

anyway - agreeing with Lee, sounds like you have some flaw that cause your stroke to break down.... and typically, stiff, musclely motions are the first to go.

I have a magic pill to cure that.

Sorry I typed the first post in a hurry, I have actually played around 8 years, 4 being on the team, don't know why I put 5.

I have the forehand in my muscle memory. All of my strokes I do unconsciously. I actually think I was just rushing all of my shots, but I don't know for sure what's wrong with the forehand at the moment.

I have another match today so I will see how it goes. I will try what you guys said, and will analyze afterwards.

 

[sabala]

Lol, crazy!

I know EXACTLY what you're talking about - It's just a complete muscle memory loss of how to swing. You use the exact same phrasing I do- "completely forgot how to hit a forehand."

I started playing tennis again for the 1st time in 11 years, (probably 15 yrs for playing/training competitively). Joined a league to start playing again and my 1st match this happened to me. Couldn't hit top off either side - I just used conti grip and sliced (and won that match) but was frustrated.

2nd match I played I won the first set and was crushing my groundies feeling great...BUT 1st shot in 2nd set to my forehand side and it was gone...nothing, either straight into the ground,(my side of court) or straight into the back fence. Literally changed on 1 point. Backhand (topspin) went too. Lost the next 2 sets 6/0, 6/1! Kept trying to hit out, relax, breathe, go over basics, etc but could not get it back. Didn't want to switch to conti FH grip this time as I wanted to get it back!

Out of 4 more matches this happened twice and I lost those 2 matches - the other 2 it didn't happen and I won pretty easily.

Last Friday I was out just practicing drills with someone I met a couple weeks earlier at my courts. He's x college player in his late 40's early 50's but coming back from disc injury. Our 1st few hits felt great, lots of consistent BH & FH DTL and Xcourt rallies. However, that Friday it happened again and this time not in a match - just hitting. It was soooo embarrassing but I started to "get it back" after maybe 30/45 mins - I actually ran over to hit against the wall for 5 mins, then went back!

Went out to hit with him again just last Wednesday and hit about 5 good FHs at first then it happened again. This time I managed to get it back and by the end of practice I was hitting confident FHs again.


After my 3rd match loss what I did was immediately after go hit against the wall - that way there's no anxiety about points, the other player or where the ball goes. I can just focus on the stroke and how I'm hitting.

Off course with the wall I start hitting good with no outside pressure and I start noticing things about what I'm doing right compared to earlier. I notice I'm more relaxed and waiting a bit longer for the ball where before I was more anxious and would swing out earlier and rolling/breaking my wrist over earlier. So I wasn't keeping my wrist laid back.

Also I noticed hitting against the wall I would feel my abs/oblique pulling my torso - when I lost my FH I think I was not rotating my trunk into the stroke so it was all arm - my practice partner mentioned I was just "slapping" at the ball as well.

If you get a chance, definitely go hit against the wall and I'll bet you'll be able to figure it out. A ball machine or maybe just simply have someone feed you some balls. I bet when you're not worried about points or hitting good shots to your partner your FH will come back. Try to take mental notes and cues about what you're doing right so you can zero in on it in match play.

If you "forget" again, try and take mental notes of just how you are swinging - look at it as a chance to figure out what you're doing wrong - analyze it. Also, I bet if you could video tape yourself when you "forget" I bet it will immediately stand out what you're doing wrong and maybe just that will be enough for you.

It's definitely 100% mental. My guess for you, (and me) is that when we lose our strokes we think we breathe, calm down and relax but there is still some anxiety causing this mental block. Just try to keep hitting through it. Maybe if you're practicing and have trouble, just run over and hit against the wall for a few minutes (I hope there's a wall!) or just have your partner feed balls to you then go back to practice, can't really do that in matches though but I've also just drop fed balls to myself.

Maybe get a buddy and say, like, "My forehand is gone, I wanna play a practice match just so I can tell WTF I'm doing wrong!" If your FH is "gone" keep swinging at it the wrong way and try to analyze what it is that's wrong. Coming at it from an analytical way opposed to a competitive frustrated/anxious way might be beneficial. If you know what you are doing wrong you might be able to change it - and that would be practice for what to do in a competitive match situation.

Another thing that helped me during practice was focus on moving my feet. Hopping up/down, side to side, shuffle steps...and I mean continuously, non stop! If I wasn't hopping, I was on the balls of my feet, never flat footed - just something to focus my brain on instead of on my FH stroke. Also only concentrating on where I'm hitting the ball to helped to "distract" me from thinking of the stroke.

What's difficult is something like this can snowball - it randomly happens once, you get anxious about it, then you're worrying about it before you go out so your anxiety increases and the ill effects increase, and so on. So try to stay focused on beating this, you have to figure out a way to keep that block from happening in your matches or if it does you have to know how to correct/deal with it.

It's tough, believe me I know! It's kinda like when you forget a person's name that you know so well but just go blank. The info IS there in the brain but for whatever reason you can't access it at that moment.


So again, I'd say do some no pressure hitting with the wall, ball machine, self fed drop balls or someone feeding you balls and when you're hitting good take mental notes and try to develop cues that could help you get your strokes back if you "forget" again in a match.

LoL! Sorry - kinda long post there....

 

[hunter121]

thanks all

 

[sabala]

How did your last match go? How's the forehand doing?

 

[tsongaali]

How did your last match go? How's the forehand doing?

Well, i lost our last two matches to guys i should've beaten (beat them both pretty easily before) because I still can't hit the forehand correctly. The thing that really sucks is that last week we had to play a match EACH DAY. We had no days of practice where I could find my forehand again.

I tried slicing the forehand, coming to net a lot, etc. but everytime I would try to hit a routine forehand, it just doesn't work. Even in the warm up, it would go out almost all the time.

I really don't know what to do, and to make it worse, next week we have a match on Monday and Tuesday, so for both of those matches I still won't have gotten any practice in.

I would be practicing this weekend but the rain has plagued me. So for now I really just don't care. It's not like doing well this season will do me much good in the grand scheme of things anyways.

 

[sabala]

Aw, that sucks man, sorry to hear. I lost a match this morning to a guy I should've beat as well.

I hit last night with no problems, hit against the wall before my match ok but in the warm up, the 1st ball to my forehand and it was gone - It's friggin ridiculous!

I don't know about you but I think I noticed after my shoulder turn as I start to swing the racket I can feel my forearm just slightly tensing so I'm not swinging relaxed from the start. Managed to get it back towards the end of 2nd set (at 1- 5 of course) but lost 7 -5.

What about your return? Does your forehand work when you only just have time to react and not think?

Is there a wall you can hit against (when it's not raining)? I'm positive you'll hit your forehand well and you'll immediately feel the difference between your actual forehand and when it goes awry. Then the trick is to not do it in competition and just not even think about it anymore when you go out there and just hit it.

And any chance you can tape some shots? It will prob be quite obvious what you're doing wrong if you see it yourself.

 

[NLBwell]

Sounds like either your wrist position isn't right - are you dropping your wrist? - or that you are lifting your head as/before you are actually contacting the ball.
Both problems can come on suddenly and stay.
If it is more than just that one match it is a stroke problem.

 

[Bagumbawalla]

Here is one way to think about getting tense during a match.

Imaging this- It's an important point and you are receivig serve. The first serve comes in hard, but just wide. You call, " Out," and easily swat the ball back down the line for what would be a winner.

The next ball is a much easier second serve, but it lands in and you tense up and bloop it into the net.

What is the mental difference between the one shot and the other?

Basically, when I get tense and begin to play poorly- I feel I have lost the game, anyway. Having, in a sense, already lost I seem to gain a great feeling of calm and freedom. Now (having lost) it doesn't matter what I do (since I would lose if I went on like I was) so I just hit the ball freely like nothing matters- (like hitting that first return that was out).

The more you hit like this (without worries) the more it becomes part of your normal playing style.

Sometimes the nerves will come back- if they do, then just go back to thinking- I'm going to lose, anyway-- and just hit freely as you would in practice.