Mental Problem

[baal_uriel]

Friends,

I have a big problem, my mental game is completely broken... even in practice or in classes... as long as I´m playing with my opponent alone, I´m doing fine... but if there is one other person watching the game I loss my focus, and even star to shake... is like a rush of adrenaline. Yesterday I was in class with teh rest of the group and I could not get focused, and the day before that i played with a friend nad played a very good game. Í think I´m a 2.5 or 3 Baseline player.

Could you help me with this some tips or something.

Thank you very much.

 

[skiracer55]

I don't think there's any universal answer...

Friends,

I have a big problem, my mental game is completely broken... even in practice or in classes... as long as I´m playing with my opponent alone, I´m doing fine... but if there is one other person watching the game I loss my focus, and even star to shake... is like a rush of adrenaline. Yesterday I was in class with teh rest of the group and I could not get focused, and the day before that i played with a friend nad played a very good game. Í think I´m a 2.5 or 3 Baseline player.

Could you help me with this some tips or something.

Thank you very much.

...except that it comes down to one of two things. You either get used to playing in front of an audience or you figure out how to shut out everything except the court you're on, the ball, and your opponent. I don't mind spectators, sometimes it actually helps me. But if it's starting to get in the way, I just go back to focusing on the ball, the court, and my opponent.

 

[kiteboard]

INtend to relax and swing freely from now on, no matter what the situation.

 

[LuckyR]

Friends,

I have a big problem, my mental game is completely broken... even in practice or in classes... as long as I´m playing with my opponent alone, I´m doing fine... but if there is one other person watching the game I loss my focus, and even star to shake... is like a rush of adrenaline. Yesterday I was in class with teh rest of the group and I could not get focused, and the day before that i played with a friend nad played a very good game. Í think I´m a 2.5 or 3 Baseline player.

Could you help me with this some tips or something.

Thank you very much.

To be honest at 2.5 or 3.0, I would use humor, not even more seriousness in buckling down even harder. Imagine you are playing a game that you have never even heard of, where your expectations of playing well are zero and imagine you completely mess up, you'd probably laugh before you would cry. Do that.

 

[baal_uriel]

Thank you very much for your replys... I will try to relax a little more and try not to pay attention to the people around me. If u have other tips, they are welcome

 

[ajjlaaks]

I recommend you read a book called "The inner game of tennis" by Timothy Gallway. It gives you some tips to help you concentrate and basically a whole new perspective on competition and winning. Or at least for me it did. Check it out. The best tennis related book i've ever read.

 

[ajjlaaks]

I recommend you read a book called "The inner game of tennis" by Timothy Gallway. It gives you some tips to help you concentrate and basically a whole new perspective on competition and winning. Or at least for me it did. Check it out. The best tennis related book i've ever read.

 

[charliefedererer]

Are these other players enemies who berate you? Probably not. In fact they more likely fall into two categories, with most being totally disinterested in how you are playing, and the few who notice are silently cheering you on. So don't worry what they think of your play.

ajjlaaks makes a good point about Tim Gallway's book, The Inner Game of Tennis. One of the central themes is that you owe your opponent the respect of playing as well as you can to give him a fair test and enjoyable game. And you owe it to yourself as well. And the best way to do that is to just concentrate on the ball during play as you are really playing the ball, not your opponent. If you are concentrating hard enough on the ball, it is hard to be nervous. And in the interim between points, concentrate on anticipating either your or your opponents serve, and what your or your opponents return will be. That's as far into the future as you should be thinking. And again, during the point you must be in the present, concentrating on the ball.
With all that concentrating, it doesn't leave much room for distracting thoughts like what others think of your play.

 

[jerseybeemer]

+1 for Inner Game. Best 10 bucks you can spend on improving your game.

 

[bharat]

+1 for Inner Game. Best 10 bucks you can spend on improving your game.

will get it today and give it a shot

im a 3.5 player constantly getting tight when im up a break and eventually losing the very next game.

i start slow losing the first 2 games and then with the next 2 but once i get that 5th game, I get so tense its funny, and its just practice!!

 

[skiracer55]

I'm not much for The Inner Game...

will get it today and give it a shot

im a 3.5 player constantly getting tight when im up a break and eventually losing the very next game.

i start slow losing the first 2 games and then with the next 2 but once i get that 5th game, I get so tense its funny, and its just practice!!

...but it might work. Even if it's practice, as soon as you and your opponent start keeping score, you can get the yips. A tennis match is definitely a pressure situation, but it's not a jail sentence, either. If you lose, unless you like to make long bets, you're probably not going to lose your house. It's a game, and the nice thing about games is that win or lose, it's still just a...game.

One of my former coaches told me something about tournament matches that made sense and has worked for me:

- Believe in yourself.

- Always give your best effort.

- Play the ball, not your opponent.

- Always try to have fun, somehow. Even if you lost, did you hit one or two shots that you'll remember? Works for me...

 

[supineAnimation]

I recommend you read a book called "The inner game of tennis" by Timothy Gallway. It gives you some tips to help you concentrate and basically a whole new perspective on competition and winning. Or at least for me it did. Check it out. The best tennis related book i've ever read.

Yeah, great book. Breathing, as well, is a key component in relaxing the mind and body. There is a reason you hear so many players grunt when they hit the ball. It's a device they use to ensure that they're breathing out as they swing. But just as importantly, you need to breathe in as you set up and breathe in the correct way. A great way to test your breathing technique is to watch yourself take a deep breath in the mirror. If you see your shoulders raise, which is very common, you're not using your diaphragm in the correct manner. Practice breathing in deeply by expanding your diaphragm out to the sides and front of your rib cage without affecting your shoulders and exhaling by allowing the diaphragm to push the air out without slumping your shoulders. This is a common technique used in yoga and pilates as well. Breathing in the right way will help you keep your nerves and apprehension from affecting your mechanics and it helps keep your cardiovascular functioning at high level during points.

If you feel the sensation of butterflies in your stomach, which again, is quite common, don't try to shoo them away. Try to embrace them as excitation kinda like you're getting ready to go on a roller coaster. If you can turn this sensation into a positive feeling rather than a negative one, it can actually help. When I used to play big matches in my competitive days I would often get the butterflies and I'd associated them with a feeling of dread. But when a coach told me to think of the feeling as excitement about the moment rather than fear, it really helped. Good luck.