How to not miss easy shots under pressure?

J

Jer Yu

Rookie
I played a match that actually counted against a friend. The pressure was on, which means I never hit well. I noticed that my backhand is fine, however, my forehand feels off. In rallys or recreational matches, I play well. However, in a pressure situation, I always either shank my forehand, or open up the racket face and end up hitting the ball way long. What is the correct match mentality one should have? I also have a problem of not hitting the ball as hard as I can. I am afraid of losing. Oddly enough, that fear creates pressure which makes me lose even more. How do you go for your shots in a match situation?
 
Just play more, expose yourself to higher pressure matches so in time a lesser pressure one will feel like nothing.

Tip: wrap your mind around the worst case/impact of the loss. Imagine it, accept it and then move on.

It's kinda ongoing work for me to convince my peers to play pressure matches. One of them admitted that she was "chicken" and stressed out. Most of the players in my session do not play the pressure matches that we (a group of 5, 6 ppl) play. They can't handle it so they avoid it like they do committing murder. Sometimes such avoidance looks very pathetic and sad.

The ones that come around and play enjoy the thrill immensely. They have successfully got over the pain (cost) of the loss. AFter that they can enjoy high quality, serious, memorable tennis!
 
user92626 said:
Just play more, expose yourself to higher pressure matches so in time a lesser pressure one will feel like nothing.

Tip: wrap your mind around the worst case/impact of the loss. Imagine it, accept it and then move on.

It's kinda ongoing work for me to convince my peers to play pressure matches. One of them admitted that she was "chicken" and stressed out. Most of the players in my session do not play the pressure matches that we (a group of 5, 6 ppl) play. They can't handle it so they avoid it like they do committing murder. Sometimes such avoidance looks very pathetic and sad.

The ones that come around and play enjoy the thrill immensely. They have successfully got over the pain (cost) of the loss. AFter that they can enjoy high quality, serious, memorable tennis!
Click to expand...
I've been working on at least 3 matches a week as a goal. I hope that turns out well. I think I have to go for my shots more honestly instead of being afraid of losing the point.
 
Jer Yu said:
I played a match that actually counted against a friend. The pressure was on, which means I never hit well. I noticed that my backhand is fine, however, my forehand feels off. In rallys or recreational matches, I play well. However, in a pressure situation, I always either shank my forehand, or open up the racket face and end up hitting the ball way long. What is the correct match mentality one should have?
Click to expand...

Focus on the process, not the results.

Process is what goes into hitting a good shot: footwork, anticipation, preparation, swing path, etc. These are all things you do in practice repeatedly. During a match, you need to let go and allow your training to take over.

Results is whether you won the point.

Concentrating on results will likely lead to bad form because you just want to get the ball in no matter what.
Concentrating on process will paradoxically also lead to better results.

I also have a problem of not hitting the ball as hard as I can. I am afraid of losing. Oddly enough, that fear creates pressure which makes me lose even more. How do you go for your shots in a match situation?
Click to expand...

Why do you fear losing? Do you have high expectations? Don't want to let yourself/the team/the crowd down?

Check out some of Cohn's videos:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tennis+patrick+cohn
 
S&V-not_dead_yet said:
Focus on the process, not the results.

Process is what goes into hitting a good shot: footwork, anticipation, preparation, swing path, etc. These are all things you do in practice repeatedly. During a match, you need to let go and allow your training to take over.

Results is whether you won the point.

Concentrating on results will likely lead to bad form because you just want to get the ball in no matter what.
Concentrating on process will paradoxically also lead to better results.
Well in high school tennis, theres a lot of pressure on you to not let down your team. .


Why do you fear losing? Do you have high expectations? Don't want to let yourself/the team/the crowd down?

Check out some of Cohn's videos:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tennis+patrick+cohn
Click to expand...

Especially, when you are playing a player that you believe is less skilled. But thanks for the advice. One can easily win by pushing, but does not get better at tennis
 
I played a lightning tournament a few months ago and found that I played so tense and afraid of losing that I was merely pushing the ball back over the net, so different to what I do when practicing, then I realized that I have to get accustomed ro play under pressure and enrolled in a month long tournament just to play, I'm working on not caring about the results more than the execution, if I don't pay that much attention to the w/l column I can play much more relaxed and my strokes are much more fluid and effective.
 
When we are just rallying we are hitting effortlessly and generally better. Why? Because there’s no pressure, create a light pressure situation for yourself. Hit with hitting partner and play to ten. Loser has to do 20 push-ups, or whatever you decide. It gives you something to play for and gives you experience in a bit of a pressure situation. The more practice pressure situations you’re in, the less you succumb to them in real matches.
 
Last edited:
-Play more pressured situations
-Focus on hitting the shot just like in no pressure situations
-Swing fast like you do always dont slow the swing and get tight
-If you miss take it as normal, pros miss alot, just analyze in ur head what made you miss and on the next shot focus to fix that
 
Jer Yu said:
Especially, when you are playing a player that you believe is less skilled. But thanks for the advice. One can easily win by pushing, but does not get better at tennis
Click to expand...
Well I'll jump on the wagon here: the day you cannot win against pushing you are not likely the more skilled player on the court :p
 
play like you are practicing - forget that you are playing for a point and just try to hit a well placed shot

the greatest problem when we are playing for real is that we are not relaxed anymore.
 
For some reason, when I make noises on the court, I feel less pressure. If I am just focused and quiet, I feel the pressure. Maybe I gotta be obnoxious and just yell "let's go!!!" Whenever I hit a winner.
 
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