Is winning a match with mental tricks unfair?

[Koaske]

In the game of tennis, probably one of the best ways to win a match is to play your best game and make your opponent play his worst game. Any style of play can result in opponent playing badly, but pushing usually works the best when it comes to actual play. Play style is not limited by the rules; you may play like a power-hitter or a pusher.

However, the mental tricks I'm talking about here are tricks done without racket.
You can make your opponent lose focus on the game for example by complimenting him or saying something else that affects opponent psychologically and makes his level of play drop.

Do you think this kind of mental play is acceptable to win a match?

 

[Rickson]

In the game of tennis, probably one of the best ways to win a match is to play your best game and make your opponent play his worst game. Any style of play can result in opponent playing badly, but pushing usually works the best when it comes to actual play. Play style is not limited by the rules; you may play like a power-hitter or a pusher.

However, the mental tricks I'm talking about here are tricks done without racket.
You can make your opponent lose focus on the game for example by complimenting him or saying something else that affects opponent psychologically and makes his level of play drop.

Do you think this kind of mental play is acceptable to win a match?

You can use all sorts of tactics to beat your opponent, but obviously some mental tricks are not allowed. I have playing partners who call all line balls out and while they feel that's a good mental strategy, that's just plain cheating.

 

[Indiantwist]

Yes. If one is a mental weakling, that should be exploited to win a match.
My preference is first try to beat with sheer skill and game. If that doesnt work try working on strategy.if that doesnt then try mental stuff.

In my book, they all are good options. I fully expect an opponent to throw those kinda stuff at me when i go for a match.

 

[kevhen]

If your opponent is so mentally weak he can't handle a compliment, then no it's not unfair. Cheating on line calls is unfair.

 

[Nuke]

Some things are poor sportsmanship and some are just playing smart. it depends.

Things like stalling, or questioning lots of calls may rile your opponent, but are really poor ways to get a win.

A fair "head game" I use a lot is standing very far in on my opponent's second serve. It screws with a lot of players game, but there's nothing at all unsportsmanlike about it.

 

[erik-the-red]

I get a bad rep for making calls. Fact is, at our level, it's two players playing. We do not have a chair ump nor do we have eleven line judges.

If I'm not sure, I give the point to my opponent. If I think it was out, then I call it.

 

[Pomeranian]

"Stalling" is done even at pro level. I don't think it's really necessary at lower levels or effective unless you intend to try their patience. But at higher levels, you have long rallies and lots of running, and a couple of more seconds of rest becomes critical. But of course only in the time allowed by the rules.

Questioning lots of line calls just to rile your opponent is poor sportsmanship, but questioning them because you think you saw the shots go in, that's just being assertive and if you just let those close calls go the best of your opponent might come after you.

Giving compliments when appropriate is good sportsmanship. But if you give it too often, it becomes meaningless that's why only when appropriate. I agree with kevhen, if you're opponent is so mentally weak, he can't handle the gamesmanship of a compliment, , that's his problem.

 

[Mahboob Khan]

If the compliments are used to disrupt the opponent's concentration, they are bad. In fact, some players will complain to the Umpire if you compliment them because they know that these "compliments" indeed are based on evil intent.

I think gamemanship is bad; however, using your other weapons such as sound technique, tactics, physical conditioning coupled with mental toughness, is all that's required!

 

[PM_]

I’m a big fan of the phrase, "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

It certainly fits in these situations b/c some opponents will relent to all types of tactics to win a match, and that includes gamemanship. Nobody enjoys being on the receiving end of it, but also there’s no rule that says you have to keep your mouth shut.
My advice, for every action there can be a reaction. Learn to feed off of these so-called “compliments” often and thwart them appropriately without losing your cool-which is the last result you want.

Ignore and filter it out what your opponents say that doesn’t serve you any interest in the match.
Remember Kevin Costner in For Love of the Game where he pitches that perfect game. Before he starts each inning he says to himself, “Activate the mechanism!” After that, he filters the crowd into silence. Amazing. That’s what I do and it works!


My advice is take it for what it is b/c you KNOW WHAT IT IS. And you know what the intent is. The more you know, the better, and the more you receive the thicker the shell you’ll develop.

 

[BillyBee]

C'mon, do you really want to win matches by playing mental tricks? That's pathetic to me. Why even play the game then? Reminds me of the yahoos who sit behind home plate and yell insults at players in an attempt to get under their skin.

If you need to resort to that stuff, then you must not be very good, and I would suggest practicing actual strokes instead. Can you imagine Sampras or Federer resorting to that sort of stuff? Gee, I wonder why.

That being said, I do think certain things are okay in an effort to swing momentum in your favor. For instance, if I'm particularly angry at myself after a point and I'm having trouble getting over it, I might take an extra 10 seconds before serving by walking over to a ball and picking it up when I've already got two in my pocket. But that's something I'm doing for myself. If my opponent got angry at that, I don't think that would be reasonable anger on his part.

On the other hand, Ivan Lendl was famous for carefully examining tennis balls for ridiculous lengths of time before selecting one to serve with. He often did this as a way to stall momentum if things weren't going well for him, pushing the limits of how much time you're allowed between points. He would do this to a maddening effect. Brad Gilbert writes a whole chapter about this topic in his book, "Winning Ugly."

I'm always happy to see any of my opponents try and pull stuff like this, because it immediately lets me know that they're not secure enough about their actual game to let their strokes win the match.

 

[equinox]

If the compliments are used to disrupt the opponent's concentration, they are bad. In fact, some players will complain to the Umpire if you compliment them because they know that these "compliments" indeed are based on evil intent.

I think gamemanship is bad; however, using your other weapons such as sound technique, tactics, physical conditioning coupled with mental toughness, is all that's required!

I'm always praising my opponents shots, even when i'm kicking ass or losing.

I'm EVIL++.

Anyways being mentally tough and being able to focus and block out distractions is part of playing good tennis. If they get rattled by a little chatter..they should go play something else.

 

[AngeloDS]

Is it unfair -- yes. Anything that gives you an advantage can be considered unfair ;p. But is it cheating? It depends on the situation.

 

[chess9]

I hate it when my opponent compliments my shots. That's a sure way to beat me.

On the other hand, start talking trash and I just get very quiet and focussed.

-Robert
________
Cheap Tsd Tactical Feeder Plastic Airsoft

 

[mucat]

When I am playing a match and I hit the ball out.

I will say, "it is in."

My opponent will say, "it is in."

It only works on the weak minded though...

 

[Indiantwist]

I'm always happy to see any of my opponents try and pull stuff like this, because it immediately lets me know that they're not secure enough about their actual game to let their strokes win the match.

Infact i purposefully let my opponents think like i am not secure enough.
Against Some opponents that is actually true. To me Mental strength is a part and parcel of the game. Like it or not . some people play dirty. Using a lil mental game to upset them is correct per me.

There were times when i act as if i am really frustrated. Though this didnt give me a lot of mileage, it did force a few opponents to try being more aggressive and forced a few more errors.

I also had good number of matches where i was over matched and my opponnt just blew me off becuase it didnt matter which game i played mental/physical.

 

[Mattle]

I think it's ok to make a little frustration, those that are legal and not obvious. Saying time out all the time for watering the clay court just to break the opponent's rythm, that's bizar. Yelling and saying not appropriate things to the opponent is illegal. You should do small things, like move around while he's making his toss, taking your time between points, stretching, getting your sweat off etc.

 

[Jolly Reaper]

Things like complimenting your opponent or saying something to them with a underlying intention is kind of sneaky, but not necessarily unfair. If the opponent can't handle the stress from the other person from something they say, then they should heighten their mental game. But things like calling out things during the match, or taking time out of a game for drama isn't really right.

 

[movdqa]

In the game of tennis, probably one of the best ways to win a match is to play your best game and make your opponent play his worst game. Any style of play can result in opponent playing badly, but pushing usually works the best when it comes to actual play. Play style is not limited by the rules; you may play like a power-hitter or a pusher.

However, the mental tricks I'm talking about here are tricks done without racket.
You can make your opponent lose focus on the game for example by complimenting him or saying something else that affects opponent psychologically and makes his level of play drop.

Do you think this kind of mental play is acceptable to win a match?

Wear earplugs.

 

[toth]

what do you mean ,,too dirty"?
of cource if it is ,,too dirty" it is not ok

 

[ProStaffFanatic]

Wow old thread. Meh, I'll give my opinion anyway.

The OP talks about "saying things to the opponent". I think that's thin ice. Complimenting on a good shot is good sportsmanship imo.
Talking thrash is a big no-no.

I most definitely use mental games / tricks during play. Always. Even when I'm winning hard. But most aren't as much geared to annoy my opponent as they are to uplift myself.

Like one thing I always do when the opponent is serving... Say it's 40-30 and there's a ball on my court that requires clearing before the next point. I will send it over to the other side even (or especially) if the opponent already has two balls ready to start the next point. As if to say "you will need more balls for more serves after this point, because the game won't be over". Conversely, in the same situation but at 30-40 breakpoint, I'll put the ball in my pocket. As if to say: "I'll be serving next point anyway...."

I do this primarily for myself to put myself in some type of "confident" state of mind. But attentive opponents do pick up on it and it might get inside their heads.

Another thing I dare to do, is to break the opponents rhythm. Say he's serving super well and is in a great flow. Right before next point starts, just before he's in position to serve, I might drop down and retie my shoelace. Just to "break" the rhythm. I would never do that if he's already in position to serve though, I consider that bad sportsmanship. And most certainly not between first and second serve. But if he's not yet in position (say he has another 3-4 steps before being in place) - sure, I might.
And he'll have to wait 5-10 seconds to start serving. On a psychological level, that puts me in control of the flow of the point. It's also for myself - clear my head, take some seconds to catch my breath, etc.

All these little things are part of the game. Tennis is very much a mind game in a very real way.

No, it's not cheating. By definition, only things that are counter the actual rules, is cheating.
To me it's more a question of good or bad sportsmanship. There are things that have a fine line though.... Like the retie the shoelace thing....
You might call it bad sportsmanship... To me it all depends on when you do it.
If the guy is already in position to serve and is actually starting to bounce the ball and you then say "stop" and drop down to unnecessarily tie your shoelace... = bad sportsmanship.
If the guy however is NOT in position and still walking from picking up balls and you do it then = ok. Not "good sportsmanship", but not bad either. Just neutral. His serve rhythm hasn't start yet and we are in between points. It's fine.
It becomes bad sportsmanship again if you do it multiple times per game or set.



Having said all this.... none of this will actually make you "win" or "lose" matches imo.
At best, it might help you win an additional point left and right. Might be crucial points, yes.... But a match consists of 60 to 100 points. More if the match is tight.

I can't imagine walking away from a match thinking "If only he didn't retie his shoelace at 30-40 in the second set, I so would have won that match".
Sounds pretty bonkers to me.

 

[socallefty]

I would not do or say anything that I consider bad sportsmanship as I was brought up to consider good sportsmanship (or being a gentleman in old parlance from the 70s) essential in sport and in life. There are many things that I’ve seen opponents do that fall under ‘gamesmanship’, but does not break the rules and is not cheating. When you competed a lot in junior tennis and tournaments or even in other organized sports, you ran into gamesmanship (including trash-talking in other sports) so often that you learned to ignore it.

The rec players who haven’t competed much in organized sports as kids are more likely to be affected by gamesmanship, but the good news is that most rec players who learned tennis as adults are well-behaved in my experience. The outliers get talked about a lot and don’t get invited much to social tennis - my experience is with private tennis clubs and I don’t know if it is worse on public courts.

 

[McGradey]

I don't talk much during matches. I'll applaud or 'nice shot' a good one from the opponent, and if it's a friendly match with someone I know well I might indulge in a tongue in cheek 'vamos' of my own after a good shot, but I don't engage in any mental subterfuge, and I try to let anything the other guy says or does roll off my back.

Having anything more than my game/strategy busying my mind would likely only make me play worse.

 

[TheBoom]

For me it totally depends on the match. If it’s just a practice match with friends, I find it in bad taste to do so because for me I’m playing to enjoy tennis with a friend.

At a competitive level, I’ll never trash talk an opponent unless they start it, then I’ll definitely be saying things like “short”, “come on” or “use it” after a double (you can thank college tennis for that). I think in general though complimenting a shot is fine. Tying shoes, taking a bit between points, asking the opponent to wait for a serve, getting the next court’s ball, grunts here and there, a “come on” after an error from your opponent all seem fair game to me.

I haven’t often played a match where these little things affect the outcome of the match and playing at a competitive level requires you to learn how to deal with this kind of thing. No one’s going to play tennis exactly how you want them to, so you have to get over it and get to controlling what you can control

 

[LuckyR]

The funny thing is that "bad" gamesmanship, like tying your shoes and trashtalking, isn't very effective in my experience, whereas "okay" gamesmanship, like complementing someone's serve, is mild to moderately effective.