My true potential? how not to be mentally meek?

[Wallio1125]

Hi tennis peeps i need some opinion on how not to be mentally meek.

I started tennis when I was 19 and now im 27, I guess im lucky enough to have started around people that "know" their tennis,because of them I have good techniques. My friends told me repeatedly that the quality of my strokes are really high, but my tennis I.Q is very low, because of these they advised me to start playing competitively, and so i started to do so around 2 years ago. To test myself i played an open tourney because i feel im at that level.
I was so wrong. I broke him in the opening game, but and then i lost the remaining games (1-6,0-6) it was the 1st round,my opponent lost in the 2nd round 3,3 to the 3rd seed. I played another open tourney i lost again (1-6,6-0,0-6). Last year I played 2 division on the same tournament, the open & 4.5. In 4.5 I lost in the 1st round to the last year runner up (3-6,6-2,3-6). In the open i won my 1st round (6-4,4-6,6-0) and lost against the 3rd seed 3,2 in the 2nd. A friend of mine suggested me to play 4.5 league because he figures im at that level. I played the 4.5 league this year and it was a bitter,sweet experience. I played 5 matches i lost my first 3 horribly,and its not because of the difference in skills but mentality. People would adapt, and prevail under pressure, although all of the matches that i played lasted really long (usually the 2nd or 3rd match to finish) the score does not reflect that. It crushes my spirit because i was so frustrated that my mental game is not up to par to my strokes. To add more insult to the pain,is how all of my opponent tells me after the match how beautiful my strokes are, i know they meant well. I was determined to win at least 1 match and i did (6-2,6-2), it gave me confidence playing for my last match for the league. I lost against the player with the 3rd best overall record in the league (3-6,6-7) battling back from 2-5 in the 2nd and i have chances to take that 2nd set. Although i lost and disappointed but in return I figured what I've been doing wrong mentally for so long. I respect my opponent too much because of that i lack the believe to win and it clustered my mind so much in a match. And it works a couple week ago i played my friend he has the 2nd best singles record in the league, he previously double bagelled me the last time we played and now although i got beat but it was pretty closed 4-6,3-6.

... now that the season is over this summer im planning to join 4 tournaments and play 2 division on each tournament 4.5 & open. Do you think that's a good idea? And is there any thing besides playing matches that I can do to be mentally tougher?

Thanks tennis peeps

 

[Larrysümmers]

id try 4.0 tournaments or something

 

[SStrikerR]

What do you mean mentally tougher? Do you mean you're able to hit good shots, but unable to execute them under pressure? Or do you mean ou have good shots, but no real gameplan on the court?

 

[yonexpurestorm]

try reading some parts of this book. i was killing myself mentally in tournaments. the book talks a lot about how players over think things and make themselves play worse. after reading it i am able to stay much calmer on the court and let myself play the game i know i can. i got it on audio book because it was the only tennis book they had and thought id give it a try. its actually helped me a lot more than i thought it would

 

[Maui19]

try reading some parts of this book. i was killing myself mentally in tournaments. the book talks a lot about how players over think things and make themselves play worse. after reading it i am able to stay much calmer on the court and let myself play the game i know i can. i got it on audio book because it was the only tennis book they had and thought id give it a try. its actually helped me a lot more than i thought it would

Ummm...what's the title of that book again?

 

[CoachingMastery]

There are a number of books that can address your mental applications during tennis matches.

The Inner Game of Tennis is one of the first and still one of the best; Zen in the Martial Arts, (which is about Karate but written by a tennis player and has great application to tennis), Winning Ugly, another classic and very helpful book to many players; David Ranney's two great books: "Tennis: Play the Mental Game", and "Play ZEN-sational Tennis." Jeff Greewald's "Fearless Tennis" has some potent stuff too.

In my own books, "Tennis Mastery" and "Coaching Mastery" I cover some of the tenents of these books as well as Scott Ford's "Parallel Mode Processing" which again is a powerful mental teaching system.

Mental tennis can be a complex as stroke development. It can be more elusive as the mind can be controlled by so many factors as well as experiences, expectations, and memory. Thus, there are many books that try to address these factors.

Would love to address the OP's original question but a qualified response would take too much time!

 

[Limpinhitter]

Hi tennis peeps i need some opinion on how not to be mentally meek.

I started tennis when I was 19 and now im 27, I guess im lucky enough to have started around people that "know" their tennis,because of them I have good techniques. My friends told me repeatedly that the quality of my strokes are really high, but my tennis I.Q is very low, because of these they advised me to start playing competitively, and so i started to do so around 2 years ago. To test myself i played an open tourney because i feel im at that level.
I was so wrong. I broke him in the opening game, but and then i lost the remaining games (1-6,0-6) it was the 1st round,my opponent lost in the 2nd round 3,3 to the 3rd seed. I played another open tourney i lost again (1-6,6-0,0-6). Last year I played 2 division on the same tournament, the open & 4.5. In 4.5 I lost in the 1st round to the last year runner up (3-6,6-2,3-6). In the open i won my 1st round (6-4,4-6,6-0) and lost against the 3rd seed 3,2 in the 2nd. A friend of mine suggested me to play 4.5 league because he figures im at that level. I played the 4.5 league this year and it was a bitter,sweet experience. I played 5 matches i lost my first 3 horribly,and its not because of the difference in skills but mentality. People would adapt, and prevail under pressure, although all of the matches that i played lasted really long (usually the 2nd or 3rd match to finish) the score does not reflect that. It crushes my spirit because i was so frustrated that my mental game is not up to par to my strokes. To add more insult to the pain,is how all of my opponent tells me after the match how beautiful my strokes are, i know they meant well. I was determined to win at least 1 match and i did (6-2,6-2), it gave me confidence playing for my last match for the league. I lost against the player with the 3rd best overall record in the league (3-6,6-7) battling back from 2-5 in the 2nd and i have chances to take that 2nd set. Although i lost and disappointed but in return I figured what I've been doing wrong mentally for so long. I respect my opponent too much because of that i lack the believe to win and it clustered my mind so much in a match. And it works a couple week ago i played my friend he has the 2nd best singles record in the league, he previously double bagelled me the last time we played and now although i got beat but it was pretty closed 4-6,3-6.

... now that the season is over this summer im planning to join 4 tournaments and play 2 division on each tournament 4.5 & open. Do you think that's a good idea? And is there any thing besides playing matches that I can do to be mentally tougher?

Thanks tennis peeps

Hey Wallio,

Your experience is TYPICAL. Everyone goes through the experience of learning how to win matches. If I understand correctly, after playing tennis for about 6 years you played in your first tournament about 2 years ago, played in one more tournament 1 year ago, and season of league play consisting of 5 matches, and in that time you learned that having great stroke production, alone, isn't enough to win matches.

I don't think you are being fair to yourself to say that your game is mentally meek. You have to compare apples to apples. The first thing you learned is that having great technique and stroke production isn't enough to win, especially in the men's open division where everyone has great technique and stroke production. They also have 100's of matches of experience under their belts beginning as juniors, through high school, college, and some have significant pro tour experience including ATP rankings. In addiiton to that, many men's 4.5 players have significant junior, high school and college experience, with both tournament and team match play experience. Most of them are not just rec level players. And you won 2 matches at 4.5. That's pretty good for someone who didn't start playing until they were 19. The second thing you need to learn is that in addition to having great strokes you need a winning gameplan and you need experience implementing your gameplan under match play conditions.

As for gameplan, tennis is actually a very simple game. As I've written dozens of times on TT, your gameplan should start with a clear understanding that TENNIS IS A PERCENTAGE GAME, that high percentage tennis is a simple and specific approach, and that the players who play high percentage tenns, with discipline, give themselves the best chance of winning. You also need to know the rudiments of high percentage tennis. I have discovered that the majority of TT members have NO IDEA what the basics of high percentage tennis are. Most seem to think it means playing the safest shots or being a pusher. It does not. It is about shot selection and court positioning. It is a fundamental approach to the game that gives any player, big hitter, pusher, and everyone in between, the best chance to win against all styles of tennis. High percentage tennis gives you the best chance to keep the ball in play, to keep your opponent on defense, and to keep yourself in position to take advantage of opportunities to attack.

Having said that, if you already know the basics then you don't need to hear it again from me. If you don't, you could do a forum search, or if you like, I can spell out the basics for you here. Let me know.

 

[pkshooter]

People tell me the same thing albeit at a lower level, good to know I'm not the only one

 

[Wallio1125]

Wow cool, i didn't expect to get this much response.
Thanks for the responses first of all.
]

Larrysümmers id try 4.0 tournaments or something

I made a mistake of self rating myself to a 4.5 when I join the league this spring..so I can't really play in a 4.0 tournaments.. although I previously planned to play the 4.0 league but my friends pushed me to believe in myself and play up. I think it's because one of the reason is because my friends are benchmark 4.0 players that got bumped up to 4.5 in the league in socal.. and they think supposedly they say..and it hurts when they said it is that supposedly i should've bagelled them when i play them... One of them is/was no. 2 in the 4.0 last year.

SStrikerR What do you mean mentally tougher? Do you mean you're able to hit good shots, but unable to execute them under pressure? Or do you mean ou have good shots, but no real gameplan on the court?

I think it's a mix of both, my mind just crumbled when i'm under pressure and the weird part it usually happened when I'm up 3-0... and I don't adjust my game to my opponent weakness I just try to hit the ball where my opponent isn't...i don't change my serve, i don't change the spin of my shots...etc..etc.. But both aspects got a bit better though after i played league.


@yonexpurestorm, yeah i heard from my friends that I need to read winning ugly by brad gilbert. I need to get back to you if that's the book that you meant!

@Limpinhitter & CoachingMastery : yeah that's what i noticed especially in the 4.5 league that the 4.5 ers are very consistent. The really good 4.5er's one not only are they consistent but they adapt and adjust to their opponent really quickly!

My friend recorded my matches with some of friends it's on his youtube, they're before I played the league this year. Any critique will help. Thanks for the advises!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3fQd7yo4K0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJE5qWx9NJg&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbq2T0wQUPc&feature=relmfu

 

[LeeD]

Thanks for posting vid. Blue hat guy, I assume....
Seriously, you are a 4.0 at best.
You should play 4.0, you have average strokes, a little stiff, bad anticipation, slow movement. Your serve is weak at best, your groundies only average.
The fact you WON at Open and 4.5 only shows that there are other's like you who are 4.0's playing UP to and including Open.
I've often stated I, as a 4.5, played in plenty of Open events, and usually got to the 3rd round...at least 8 out of 12 tourneys. Hot weather, I lost 1st round every time, I'm from the fog belt.

 

[Wallio1125]

Thanks for posting vid. Blue hat guy, I assume....
Seriously, you are a 4.0 at best.
You should play 4.0, you have average strokes, a little stiff, bad anticipation, slow movement. Your serve is weak at best, your groundies only average.
The fact you WON at Open and 4.5 only shows that there are other's like you who are 4.0's playing UP to and including Open.
I've often stated I, as a 4.5, played in plenty of Open events, and usually got to the 3rd round...at least 8 out of 12 tourneys. Hot weather, I lost 1st round every time, I'm from the fog belt.

thanks for the reality check! its harsh but I get it and it motivates me even more because I know I can be better. Im saying this hopefully not because im delusional and i dont have proof to show it but i've beaten my friends who are good players not long ago one is ranked no.2 in the 4.0 for SoCal & an open player he got 3 games from Luis Perez dudeee :shock:!!I would play 4.0 but I can't change my rating right now...plus my friends told me that I should play up in tournaments because ,as you just said people tend to play up..thats why they push me to play 4.5 league because people tend to play down...lol
I'm working really hard on my serve and anticipation you're right it sucked..

Thanks for the advice,btw i play league in San Gabriel Valley too bad ur up north i would've like to play you..

 

[sunof tennis]

thanks for the reality check! its harsh but I get it and it motivates me even more because I know I can be better. Im saying this hopefully not because im delusional and i dont have proof to show it but i've beaten my friends who are good players not long ago one is ranked no.2 in the 4.0 for SoCal & an open player he got 3 games from Luis Perez dudeee :shock:!!I would play 4.0 but I can't change my rating right now...plus my friends told me that I should play up in tournaments because ,as you just said people tend to play up..thats why they push me to play 4.5 league because people tend to play down...lol
I'm working really hard on my serve and anticipation you're right it sucked..

Thanks for the advice,btw i play league in San Gabriel Valley too bad ur up north i would've like to play you..

If it is any consolation, you are a lot better than the fisrt guy you played in the video. As LeeD sais, you can work on your anticipation (split step, etc). I would spend some time on your serve. If you could get a lesson or two, you could probably turn it into a weapon. Same with your forehand. It's not bad. But like most of us you need more unit turn and bending of the knees, etc. Unless you are one who can learn from watching videos of the pros hitting(there are some really good ones which have slow motion or check out Fuzzy Yellow Balls (FYB)), you would really help your game by getting some lessons. If you really want to become a true 4.5 or 5.0 that is going to be the best way of achieving your goal.

 

[Mulach]

Based on my USTA league experience, I'm thinking better 3.5s would take matches from you. See if you can appeal your rating next year and try to play 3.5 league and tournaments. Build up your match experience working your way to computer rated 4.0 and then hopefully 4.5.

Agree with others that lessons would do you a world of good.