How To Relax Under Pressure In Your Tennis Matches.

[thomas daniels]

It doesn't matter how well you deveop your strokes in practice, if you can't execute them when facing pressure in your tennis matches.

Does it?

Of course not!!

Which is why.

You should be spending more of your time off the court, working on your ability to perform at your best, when you are facing pressure in your matches.

Your main goal here is this.

"Learn how to MENTALLY relax under pressure all the time."

This is what the pros have done and that is why they are on tour.

Now, let's talk about what you need to do, to make this happen for you in the near future.

Use your breath as your anchor.

Write this down.

Your real mental power comes from your breath.

"To perform up to your full potential under presure, you have to use your breath as your anchor and learn how to breathe through these emotional and tense situations that you face in matches."

Because the biggest problem that you are really facing is, trying to rush through the point as quick as possible to get it over with as fast as possible, and this will only lead to you choking on those points!!

This brings us to the next thing that you have to do.

Practice Mushin Training daily.

(Mushin training is just using you breath, to free yourself from all types of thought and then picturing yourself playing at your best and executing your shots in your matches.)

Mushin Training will help you emotionally detach from the outcome, then you can play the point on your terms.

At first, this maybe hard for you to do, because you aren't used to using your imagination.

Don't worry though.

Because.

With daily practice.

You will find your pictures will start to get clearer and seem more REAL to you as you keep doing it.

Last thing.

Add emotion and feeling to your mental pictures.

This is were the energy juice comes into play, that will take your mental game to another level, when combined with the other two tips.

By adding strong emotions and feeling to your mental pictures after doing the Mushin training, you will be mentally programming yourself to relax more in your matches and you will start executing on an unconscious level in future matches.

When this happens to you.

Try to really start practicing Mushin Training on a more intensive and high level.

And you can do that by.

Pretending that you are already the player that you want to become.

Emotionally go through the motion of playing in your matches mentally in your mind and pretending that you are playing your best tennis.

Then when you go to play the match.

Detach from the outcome and remember the mental pictures that you created before the match.

Then allow your subconscious mind to play up to them for YOU!!

Why does this work?

Well as Musashi Miyamoto has said, "You become who you pretend to be".

Okay so.

For you guys who are serious about taking your matchlay game to another level in 2021.

You should print out this post and get the work on these tips!!

And for the rest of you....

Keep choking under pressure my friend!!!

 

[Rubens]

Amor y paz.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Amor y paz.

Y salud tambien!

 

[Bagumbawalla]

My "method", such as it is, is to imagine that I have already lost.
If I get tense, and change my game, and choke, try too hard- do all the wrong things
I will lose.

So, instead, I just play my normal game and see what come of that.
Sometimes I still lose, but without all the drama and self loathing.

 

[Keendog]

Good advice TD, I will try this next time

 

[socallefty]

I am a a big believer in visualization before matches, breathing routines (deep to relax, shallow/fast to pump myself up) to stay at optimal stimulation and saying some mantras to calm myself down before serving on big points. I also believe that you always have to believe that you deserve to win a close match in order to actually play well when you are on the threshold of winning - sometimes you have to ‘fake it till you make it’ to have self-belief even if you are not playing well or your opponent is tough. Staying in optimal stimulation means finding a way to relax when you are stressed/tight and finding a way to pump up intensity when you are bored/unfocused - different parts of a match like game/set points, breakpoints, tiebreakers, serving to stay in a set, serving out a set etc. can cause too much stress while the first couple of games of a set, the game after you break your opponent, first game after a set win, first point of a game, serving when a double break up in a set etc. can cause you to be unfocused.

Mushin (no-mind) is a way to stay in the zone or ‘be in the flow’ so that you can execute well without thinking - it doesn’t matter if it is martial arts, sword fighting or a tennis match.

When I am in trouble in a service game (15-30, 0-30 or down break-points), I go through a multi-step grounding routine.

- First I try to say some banal sentences in my mind. The effort to remember and say the sentences usually wipes out memories of the last points and the situational stress as it gives my brain something else for focus on. I use sentences like “Life is a Journey - no one said it will be easy” and “Into every life, some rain must fall”.
- Then, I close my eyes briefly and try to visualize a couple of images to calm me down further and I also do deep breathing then. I like nature and animals and so, I visualize an image of an elk grazing in a meadow just before dusk (actual image I saw in Yellowstone once) and a second image of a close-up of a tiger‘s face.
- I step up to the serving spot and then think “What will Pete Sampras do?”. This puts me in a confident state of mind and I usually visualize serving an ace to a particular corner of the box. Then, I start my service routine. I might not serve a lot of aces, but I usually serve big serves at a high % after I go through this routine.

The actual sentences and images don’t matter - the idea is to have a 3-step routine that erases the recent memories of previous points, calms you down and then puts you into an aggressive, confident mindset. I‘ve been doing this for more than 15 years and it works well for me.

I choke and play tight if I feel in my subconscious that I don’t deserve to win the set or match. If I believe I deserve to win on that particular day, I can play relaxed even on the threshold of victory. In a close match, I sometimes have to find a way to convince myself that I deserve to win and I’ll take an extra minute to take some deep breaths, relax and tell myself I deserve to win and am going to earn that next point. I find that when your are close to winning, you still have to ‘win‘ the point with offensive play and not just wait for the opponent to give it to you - good opponents can sense when you are afraid to win and then they get relaxed and start playing better.

Pump yourself up with self-confidence on the verge of victory and ‘fake it till you make it’. It is particularly needed against someone that you have a losing streak against. It helps if you visualize winning break points, set points and match points before you play the match.

 

[thomas daniels]

Good advice TD, I will try this next time

Let me know your results my friend!!

 

[thomas daniels]

My "method", such as it is, is to imagine that I have already lost.
If I get tense, and change my game, and choke, try too hard- do all the wrong things
I will lose.

So, instead, I just play my normal game and see what come of that.
Sometimes I still lose, but without all the drama and self loathing.

I ike that and will add it to my philosophy here.

 

[thomas daniels]

I am a a big believer in visualization before matches, breathing routines (deep to relax, shallow/fast to pump myself up) to stay at optimal stimulation and saying some mantras to calm myself down before serving on big points. I also believe that you always have to believe that you deserve to win a close match in order to actually play well when you are on the threshold of winning - sometimes you have to ‘fake it till you make it’ to have self-belief even if you are not playing well or your opponent is tough. Staying in optimal stimulation means finding a way to relax when you are stressed/tight and finding a way to pump up intensity when you are bored/unfocused - different parts of a match like game/set points, breakpoints, tiebreakers, serving to stay in a set, serving out a set etc. can cause too much stress while the first couple of games of a set, the game after you break your opponent, first game after a set win, first point of a game, serving when a double break up in a set etc. can cause you to be unfocused.

Mushin (no-mind) is a way to stay in the zone or ‘be in the flow’ so that you can execute well without thinking - it doesn’t matter if it is martial arts, sword fighting or a tennis match.

Yes, you are correct, are you using it in your matches?

 

[socallefty]

Yes, you are correct, are you using it in your matches?

Yes, I won 1,050 singles matches in the last decade (2011-2020) using these methods at a 91% win rate. I also won almost 600 doubles matches at a 67% win rate. I count the number of ‘bad losses’ I play in singles each year where I did not try my best throughout the match at a high focus level and have brought it down from 5-7 a year to only 1 or 2 losses annually even though I average playing 120 singles matches a year. In other losses, I tried my best and just got beat by better opponents.

 

[socallefty]

My "method", such as it is, is to imagine that I have already lost.
If I get tense, and change my game, and choke, try too hard- do all the wrong things
I will lose.

This is the polar opposite of my mindset. I always tell myself I’m a champion and this boosts up my confidence and makes me motivated to dominate my opponent during matches. I will rarely give up a lead when I‘m in a positive mindset like that. I use deep breathing, visualization of calm scenes and some banal mantras to relax if I feel like I’m too tense or stressed at crucial points, but I never want to take away my fierce desire to compete at my best.

I don’t think you should fear losing and try to run away from it. You have to embrace that you can either lose or win every time you compete in a sporting contest. Better to fear not trying your best rather than have a fear of losing.

 

[megamind]

My method:

Try to feel the court from my feet if that makes sense, stare at my strings, bounce the ball if I’m serving, notice all the small details in my immediate environment and focus on them. Bounce my feet around. Feel the sensation

I have perhaps a bad habit of forgetting the score, and just playing the point with no idea whether it’s 40-15 match point or 0-40, and just play good tennis, winning is not the goal

I look at my opponent to see if there’s another point to play in the game, because I literally have no idea

Stacked up multiple victories last year where I saved more than 5 match points when returning etc, and end up winning it all (it can be really demoralizing for the opponent to lose all those MPs on their serve, Fedr would know)
not sure if that’s helpful

 

[Georgepeppard007]

I try to focus on watching the ball and moving my feet to get the correct spacing to hit the ball. I also try to think about each swing to hit deep. It really is about relaxing and being in the present moment.

You also have to be outcome independent. As soon as you worry about winning or losing you have already lost. Look at the quote at Wimbledon as the players enter center court:

Triumph and Disaster: Treat Those Two Imposters the Same - PerformanceXtra

Triumph and disaster will show up in our competitive performances in equal measure. They rest on the edge of a sharp knife, so we must treat them the same.

performancextra.com

 

[Bagumbawalla]

This is the polar opposite of my mindset. I always tell myself I’m a champion and this boosts up my confidence and makes me motivated to dominate my opponent during matches. I will rarely give up a lead when I‘m in a positive mindset like that. I use deep breathing, visualization of calm scenes and some banal mantras to relax if I feel like I’m too tense or stressed at crucial points, but I never want to take away my fierce desire to compete at my best.

I don’t think you should fear losing and try to run away from it. You have to embrace that you can either lose or win every time you compete in a sporting contest. Better to fear not trying your best rather than have a fear of losing.

I do not think we are such "polar opposites". Possibly, I did not explain myself well.
I did not mean for anyone to take a "losers mentality" at all.
What I was suggesting was that under pressure many players will change their game-
either play more conservatively or agressively, or they get tense, or their mind clouds over, and
they begin to "overthink" every ball they hit.-- and that changing their game in that way
will lead to losing.
So, why do all that if it leads to failure? Knowing that you have, in a sense, "already" lost by
falling victim to stress, frees you up to just concentrate on playing playing solid tennis.

Of course, this is just a mental "trick" in answer to the OPs question, and would not
apply to the person who never gets tense.

 

[Georgepeppard007]

Knowing that you have, in a sense, "already" lost by
falling victim to stress, frees you up to just concentrate on playing playing solid tennis.

I think what you describe is mentioned in this article as "negative visualization"

Triumph and Disaster: Treat Those Two Imposters the Same - PerformanceXtra

Triumph and disaster will show up in our competitive performances in equal measure. They rest on the edge of a sharp knife, so we must treat them the same.

performancextra.com

 

[RiverRat]

Yes, I won 1,050 singles matches in the last decade (2011-2020) using these methods at a 91% win rate.

That's a helluva lot of matches and an even more impressive win rate. I'd say you need to find better competition.

 

[Happi]

Yes, I won 1,050 singles matches in the last decade (2011-2020) using these methods at a 91% win rate.

Craig O'Shannessy's the tennis numbers expert, once told over at FYB that if you could win 60% of your matches as a pro, you would be no1 in the world.

I dont think Craig O'Shannessy's is correct, but you have higher win % than Novak Djokovic.

Congratulations, keep it up

 

[Georgepeppard007]

I dont think Craig O'Shannessy's is correct, but you have higher win % than Novak Djokovic.

Sandbagging is a problem with USTA leagues. I remember our 4.0 team made it to the city playoffs. We were playing a team that regularly went to nationals. I played number one seed. I knew when I was warming up with the other team's number one that I would get killed. Turns out the guy played college tennis. He had only played one or two matches the whole season, but they brought him out for the playoffs.

I think the UTR tournaments may take care of the problem.

 

[socallefty]

Craig O'Shannessy's the tennis numbers expert, once told over at FYB that if you could win 60% of your matches as a pro, you would be no1 in the world.

I dont think Craig O'Shannessy's is correct, but you have higher win % than Novak Djokovic.

Congratulations, keep it up

That's a helluva lot of matches and an even more impressive win rate. I'd say you need to find better competition.

Most of my play is social tennis within my club against others rated at the same level 4.5 as me by club coaches with an occasional match against those rated 4.0. I usually play doubles in USTA league and not singles as my teams typically have younger singles players. The players who are rated 5.0 mostly are a closed clique (all ex-college players who are younger) and it is tough to arrange matches against them as they prefer to play each other - for some reason, they also seem to play mostly doubles. So, my singles win rate is definitely a function of being at the top range of my level at the club and not playing much against the next higher level.

On the other hand, I read a book called ‘Smart Tennis’ by Dr. John Murray around 2010 that made me much better mentally on court and I feel that it added at least 20% to my win rate against the same level of opponents. I started adding pre-match visualization, using breathing techniques to regulate my stimulation, using mantras at crucial points to relax during serve games, tactical planning more for each opponent by keeping notes of each match I played, planning different tactics for different weather seasons etc. I also became much more aware of who is doing what during rallies (why am I winning, why is my opponent winning?) and how different serve/return locations influence point patterns. So, in the last decade, I’m much more aware of which point patterns are optimal for me in summer, winter etc. and what kind of serves and returns I need to hit against different types of playing styles to get to my optimal patterns.

Before I started doing all these things, my win rate in the 2000s was around 60-65% in singles and I attribute most of my progress in the 2010s to being better mentally and tactically rather than changes in technique. I play daily while many of my opponents play 2-3 times a week which is an advantage for me - I feel relatively rusty if I don’t play for 2-3 days.

Another key is that I take a lesson with a coach every week who played on the ATP Futures/Challenger level about 7 years ago and once I am grooved rallying with him, my opponent‘s shots in singles matches always seem slower, less heavier and easier to handle - if I miss a lesson with him, I feel like I don’t play as well that week during my matches. So, I’m doing a lot of pre-match preparation like visualization, tactical planning, hitting with a high-level coach etc. that my opponents are not doing.

 

[RiverRat]

Sorry to hear about the closed clique. Those guys might be fearing you. Tennis players are notorious for having fragile competitive egos, sad really. I haven't read Smart Tennis. Sounds like one to put on my book list. You're fortunate to have a good coach. I had good coaching as a junior, with one in particular who had a profound influence on my life, despite his own tragic personal failings. I haven't had a coach in adulthood, but have a recommendation for one I plan to pursue this year. Thanks for sharing so much about your personal journey. Your enthusiasm shines through and is inspiring.

 

[socallefty]

Sorry to hear about the closed clique. Those guys might be fearing you. Tennis players are notorious for having fragile competitive egos, sad really. I haven't read Smart Tennis. Sounds like one to put on my book list. You're fortunate to have a good coach. I had good coaching as a junior, with one in particular who had a profound influence on my life, despite his own tragic personal failings. I haven't had a coach in adulthood, but have a recommendation for one I plan to pursue this year. Thanks for sharing so much about your personal journey. Your enthusiasm shines through and is inspiring.

I don’t think the 5.0 guys fear playing me in singles to be honest. They are mostly young guys in their twenties and thirties who have young families and careers on the rise - so, they play only a couple of times a week and prefer to play with their friends of the same age. They’ll play doubles and then sit around drinking beer. I get to play some of them once in a while in doubles and the biggest difference I notice is the quality of their serves - triple-digit pace and higher spin than what I face typically.

Yes, I’ve tried a few coaches over the years as an adult and this is the first one who is really good. He is in his late twenties and will coach only a few dedicated adults interested in real progress - otherwise he spends most of his time coaching top juniors as he has a training academy with 8 other coaches working for him. He was in a national training center for top players in his country as a junior and I feel that having this exposure of being through a ‘system’ makes him very process-oriented in improving his players - he’ll customize a lot of drills for me based on what I tell him I want to work on each month. During the Indian Wells Masters, a couple of the lower-ranked players from Russia, Ukraine etc. hire him to be his coach for the tournament as they don’t have the money to have coaches travel with them. So, he keeps up with all the training methods and drills that today’s ATP/WTA coaches/trainers use. A side benefit of being his student is that he will bring these players to hit at our club and do group drills with a few players - I’ve been invited to do that only a couple of times and it was a lot of fun.

Thanks for your kind words about my posts.

 

[Georgepeppard007]

I don’t think the 5.0 guys fear playing me in singles to be honest.

I've won several tournaments at 4.0, but it was a different game when I tried to play in a 4.5 tournament. You can't just float the ball up the middle and wait for an error like in 4.0 tennis. The point is basically over with any short ball at 4.5 level..

I can't imagine what 5.0 is like, let alone Open level.

I doubt those guys have any fear playing you.

 

[Happi]

Most of my play is social tennis within my club against others rated at the same level 4.5 as me by club coaches with an occasional match against those rated 4.0. I usually play doubles in USTA league and not singles as my teams typically have younger singles players. The players who are rated 5.0 mostly are a closed clique (all ex-college players who are younger) and it is tough to arrange matches against them as they prefer to play each other - for some reason, they also seem to play mostly doubles. So, my singles win rate is definitely a function of being at the top range of my level at the club and not playing much against the next higher level.

On the other hand, I read a book called ‘Smart Tennis’ by Dr. John Murray around 2010 that made me much better mentally on court and I feel that it added at least 20% to my win rate against the same level of opponents. I started adding pre-match visualization, using breathing techniques to regulate my stimulation, using mantras at crucial points to relax during serve games, tactical planning more for each opponent by keeping notes of each match I played, planning different tactics for different weather seasons etc. I also became much more aware of who is doing what during rallies (why am I winning, why is my opponent winning?) and how different serve/return locations influence point patterns. So, in the last decade, I’m much more aware of which point patterns are optimal for me in summer, winter etc. and what kind of serves and returns I need to hit against different types of playing styles to get to my optimal patterns.

Before I started doing all these things, my win rate in the 2000s was around 60-65% in singles and I attribute most of my progress in the 2010s to being better mentally and tactically rather than changes in technique. I play daily while many of my opponents play 2-3 times a week which is an advantage for me - I feel relatively rusty if I don’t play for 2-3 days.

Another key is that I take a lesson with a coach every week who played on the ATP Futures/Challenger level about 7 years ago and once I am grooved rallying with him, my opponent‘s shots in singles matches always seem slower, less heavier and easier to handle - if I miss a lesson with him, I feel like I don’t play as well that week during my matches. So, I’m doing a lot of pre-match preparation like visualization, tactical planning, hitting with a high-level coach etc. that my opponents are not doing.

Well done, great story

 

[thomas daniels]

This is the polar opposite of my mindset. I always tell myself I’m a champion and this boosts up my confidence and makes me motivated to dominate my opponent during matches. I will rarely give up a lead when I‘m in a positive mindset like that. I use deep breathing, visualization of calm scenes and some banal mantras to relax if I feel like I’m too tense or stressed at crucial points, but I never want to take away my fierce desire to compete at my best.

I don’t think you should fear losing and try to run away from it. You have to embrace that you can either lose or win every time you compete in a sporting contest. Better to fear not trying your best rather than have a fear of losing.

You said a lot there and I still couldn't get your point...

 

[thomas daniels]

I've won several tournaments at 4.0, but it was a different game when I tried to play in a 4.5 tournament. You can't just float the ball up the middle and wait for an error like in 4.0 tennis. The point is basically over with any short ball at 4.5 level..

I can't imagine what 5.0 is like, let alone Open level.

I doubt those guys have any fear playing you.

So get in more reps...

 

[WestboroChe]

I like the breathing. I'll try to remember that.

Another thing to latch onto that is that breathing and heart rate are closely related and a simple and overlooked fact of tennis is that you cannot play well if your heart rate is too high. So take the 30 seconds between points to breath, lower your heart rate and remind yourself of the basic tactics and plays that you know you need to execute to win. Also make sure your fitness is up to your match level.

I find if I am very tense two things really help. One is to move your feet, do the little pepper steps, kick your heels up while preparing for the serve, even stretch if you have to. The other thing is to sing. Not necessarily outloud, but pick a song you know well enough to sing in your head. Pick a fun, relaxing song. My personal preference is for Country Grammar by Nellie, but you could use Fleetwood Mac or whatever you like. It just gives you something to think about other than the point you are about to start.

 

[WestboroChe]

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