lost confidence

[jdiameron]

I have been on a winning streak for a while and happy with my matches. Last night my partner and I were destroyed in a match and we both did so many unforced errors. If I played normal myself and lost I would not get upset. At least not for long... 50 percent of my volleys hit the net or went out. I did a few double faults in my serve which was unusual. The thing is I could not control my shots as if I was in somebody else's body And i was not sick either. Now I am scared to play. Does this happened to anybody else? I am very dissapointed with myself.

 

[MathGeek]

A short memory is useful in most sports.

 

[Stretchy Man]

I hate tennis and myself when this happens but these sorts of losses motivate me to work on my game so it doesn't happen again

 

[OnTheLine]

Net ball: I hate tennis, long ball: I hate tennis, bad service game: I hate tennis, sharply angled cross court winner: tennis is the best sport on the planet!

Yeah, we have bad days where we are personally out of sync or something. Find and celebrate what you did well, forget the rest, get back out and do it again..back to your normal self as you said.

I like what @MathGeek said ... short memory is quite useful!

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

It could be you just had a bad night; happens to us all. Your confidence should be based on the many successful matches and practices you've had over the months/years, not one result.

 

[Nacho]

I have been on a winning streak for a while and happy with my matches. Last night my partner and I were destroyed in a match and we both did so many unforced errors. If I played normal myself and lost I would not get upset. At least not for long... 50 percent of my volleys hit the net or went out. I did a few double faults in my serve which was unusual. The thing is I could not control my shots as if I was in somebody else's body And i was not sick either. Now I am scared to play. Does this happened to anybody else? I am very dissapointed with myself.

Everyone has bad nights....This is the mental part of the game that really makes tennis unique and tougher then many sports out there. Sounds like you were doing well for awhile, so just take it as an "off night".

Sometimes though it helps me to step away for a few days, or a week and do some other things to clear my head. Do something that helps get your head right like Yoga, or some other mindfulness practice. If Yoga is not for you just take a good hour hike somewhere without cell phones or other distractions. Get a massage, do whatever you an to relax your mind.

If you go back out and play try to consciencely do a few things in the warm up, or if you can practice: Have a loose grip, catch the racket with your opposite hand on the forehand; aim for balls that go 4 ft over the net, or out even, serve to have balls go over the net, not tight in the net. I would lastly suggest to have a pre-match routine of warming up and stretching. Don't do this because of your body only, do it to relax your head before you play. I carry a foam roller with me and go through a routine before matches....

We're tennis players, not going to the moon here. No reason to put so much pressure on yourself.

 

[tennis tom]

Last night my partner and I were destroyed in a match and we both did so many unforced errors.

You don't mention your opponents--some times they just won't cooperate, forcing the ball to play you, rather then you playing the ball. It's no shame losing to a pairing like Kyrygios and Zimonjic. They have the advantage right-off because most players can't even pronounce their names much less spell them.

The thing is I could not control my shots as if I was in somebody else's body

You probably were, BJK and Elton John were channeling you.

Now I am scared to play.

Take half a Xanax and you should be alright in the morning.

 

[pc1]

I have been on a winning streak for a while and happy with my matches. Last night my partner and I were destroyed in a match and we both did so many unforced errors. If I played normal myself and lost I would not get upset. At least not for long... 50 percent of my volleys hit the net or went out. I did a few double faults in my serve which was unusual. The thing is I could not control my shots as if I was in somebody else's body And i was not sick either. Now I am scared to play. Does this happened to anybody else? I am very dissapointed with myself.

Happens to me often. In some matches I will be in the zone and never seem to miss and the next match I can't hit a shot. You can't let it get to you. None of us are as great as Federer or Nadal. We're regular players and regular players do have their ups and downs.

I like to analyze exactly what I was doing wrong and try to correct it the next match. I work on it during practice.

 

[GrassCourtFan]

Ugh! Just happened to me!

A week ago my serve felt great. Then last time I played, I broke strings on two racquets and had to play with a backup whose tension was way off. My serve was terrible that day, but sure, whatever, probably the strings were just old and loose, whatever. Got all the racquets restrung, played earlier today... ...and my serve was terrible again. Dammit, it was good just a week ago!

 

[user92626]

Interesting. I'm on the other side. My friend Sam and I beat this team 3x by my memory. The last time we played our team was super confident. I was even slacking off and giving up the second set. On the third set I (I only could tell about myself) turned my level back and easily beat them.

Today in conversation that team we beat denied that we beat them 3 times. Only two times by their memory. They think our match-up is still somehow even. I said we can play anytime again but they started mumbling something...

So, OP, maybe try denial? It might work.

Confidence is a huge factor which these inexperienced guys are underestimating. In all the 3 matches I felt I knew exactly how all their shots felt like! All their limitation and weaknesses even though they were not aware of that at all. Even if I wanted to lose to be kinda nice and felt it was our time to pay for lunch, we simply couldn't lose!

IMO, to overcome a very one sided loss, the losing team doesn't just need to get a little better. It needs to get ALOT better. One unit of the technicals + two units of the mental.

 

[NLBwell]

You'd been playing well and had one bad match. You might have just been tired that day. As MathGeek said, a short memory is good.
If it continues over several matches, then you are probably doing something physically wrong. Maybe too much backswing on the volleys, moving your head just before impact, etc.
Don't worry about it unless it becomes a trend.