Returning to competitive level issue

[ondramu]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice from players who have returned to competitive tennis after a long break.

I’m 27 years old and used to compete in national tournaments. This year I decided to come back, no big unrealistic goals but smaller national tournaments.

The problem is that my match level is nowhere near my practice level.

Current record: 0–5 in singles.
The biggest issues are:

• I become passive.
• I lose confidence after a few mistakes.
• I make many unforced errors that I simply don’t make in practice.
• My two-handed backhand completely breaks down under pressure.

My latest loss was 1–6, 1–6 against a player who honestly wasn’t overwhelmingly better than me.

Have any of you experienced something similar?

How long did it take before your match level caught up with your practice level?

Was it simply a matter of playing more matches, or did you change something specific in your mental approach or training?

Thanks guys!

 

[chic]

Seems worth paying a coach to watch your next match play and diagnose. Most higher level players I know put a lot of emphasis on match experience being super important so finding practice matches you can take serious seems like a big thing.

That said, even like 11 UTR players on video have technical flaws that can be seen by a scrub like me, so if you find a recurring breakdown of a certain stroke maybe your muscle memory has atrophied and you need some reps of hitting a certain shot right?

Timewise when I took a 6ish year break it took me like 1.5-2 years to get back to my previous peak then I improved from there.
But I was probably a utr 3 at best in college so getting back included a lot of technique improvement you would have more ingrained.

What is your current and prior fitness level? Maintaining mental and physical focus may be harder too at 27 and muscle mass will take months to years to redevelop.

 

[ondramu]

Seems worth paying a coach to watch your next match play and diagnose. Most higher level players I know put a lot of emphasis on match experience being super important so finding practice matches you can take serious seems like a big thing.

That said, even like 11 UTR players on video have technical flaws that can be seen by a scrub like me, so if you find a recurring breakdown of a certain stroke maybe your muscle memory has atrophied and you need some reps of hitting a certain shot right?

Timewise when I took a 6ish year break it took me like 1.5-2 years to get back to my previous peak then I improved from there.
But I was probably a utr 3 at best in college so getting back included a lot of technique improvement you would have more ingrained.

What is your current and prior fitness level? Maintaining mental and physical focus may be harder too at 27 and muscle mass will take months to years to redevelop.

That was my idea too, to pay a coach to diagnose my match game.

I mean my fitness level, endurance, explosivity etc. is higher and better than it was before, I had 6 years break like you, so maybe its just too early now.

 

[chic]

That was my idea too, to pay a coach to diagnose my match game

Yeah, the forums here can be a great resource especially if you catch the eye of any of the good players/coaches.

But, even that, prob match video is more helpful than describing what you are feeling. Heck, have you watched your own matchplay at all or just played?

 

[Garmadon]

My latest loss was 1–6, 1–6 against a player who honestly wasn’t overwhelmingly better than me.

Love it! Sorry to choose salty, but on that day they were definitely overwhelmingly better than you. It’s fine, better days are always ahead.

 

[JordanWinning]

I was never national tournament good, but when working with adults who have taken breaks and come back to competition, the answer is usually more matches.

I’m sure you saw the same when you were in juniors/college. Some dudes are nasty in practice but couldn’t translate it to match day. Going for it in matches is often the only way to get better at going for it in matches.

I’ll also add that not every piece of advice you’ll get is worth much (as I’m sure you know). I saw a dude breaking down attack angles of racquet faces and saying the only way to improve your ball striking was to record matches at 240+ fps, so big grain of salt with all of us message board weirdos lol

 

[ErrorMachine]

It’s hard to replicate the pressure of an official match. Practice scenarios of being up and down on serves and returns (start your service game at 15-40 to practice coming back from break points on your serve/Start your service at 40-30 or deuce to practice closing it out. Start your return game at 15-30 you so you practice setting up and converting the break. Practice being up 5-4 and serving out the set). I like practicing tie breakers because it adds the pressure that every point counts. Also, practice with a wager on the line. It doesn’t have to be much, loser buys the Gatorade, court cost, balls. This adds some additional pressure versus just playing a practice match. Not sure how populated tennis is in your area, but try to find someone who also wants to improve and understands the importance of drills and doing the “boring stuff.” Practice your serve/return +1 together. A fun one we used to do was the pusher vs basher drill where 1 person just pushes, lobs and dinks to get everything back while the other players practice their normal game properly going for their shots. +\- scoring first to 10. So if you lose a point, you also lose a point on the scoreboard.