What do you do to get the right mental game?

[msweigert08]

I play a lot of 4.0 players at singles and play some close and some blow out matches. They always tell me its my mental game and it gets better with age. I want to know what do you do to get in the right
mindset playing a match? What should I practice?

 

[LeeD]

Level head, same routine as your best match, drop the pre match routine of your worst matches.

 

[SweetH2O]

For me, it was finding the right balance of wanting to win, but not taking tennis too seriously. Wanting to win helps me keep my concentration and fighting spirit. Not taking it all too seriously helps me keep my composure when things aren't going right and stay relaxed.

The mental game does generally get better with age because there are fewer things that you haven't seen on the court, and a better perspective of where tennis fits in the grand scheme of life.

 

[CaldwellYSR]

I play a lot of 4.0 players at singles and play some close and some blow out matches. They always tell me its my mental game and it gets better with age. I want to know what do you do to get in the right
mindset playing a match? What should I practice?

I'm still a little hot headed at times, although it's been almost a month since I've thrown a racquet and a couple weeks since I've thrown a hat (maybe a little more than hot headed ). One thing I've started doing to help is something I saw on ESPN from a hockey goalie. Squirt some water straight up and count try to count the drops coming down. I do it on changeovers if I'm feeling hot headed and oddly enough it works for me. Focusses the attention elsewhere for a quick moment.

 

[floridatennisdude]

I just make sure I am focused on the ball the whole time the point is being played. If I can keep my eyes on that fuzzy little sucker, the game becomes way simpler.

A psychologist friend of mine explained the "zone" to me in a way that made sense. In his opinion, an athlete performs at their maximum when they can block out all of the 5 senses except vision. Think about that. If you play through all distractions and just see the game, it becomes much easier.

 

[CaldwellYSR]

In his opinion, an athlete performs at their maximum when they can block out all of the 5 senses except vision. Think about that. If you play through all distractions and just see the game, it becomes much easier.

That's interesting... I would imagine it would be different for different sports though. For instance you use just as much feeling as sight in football. You feel the opponents moving different directions before you see them when you're blocking and as a CB (where I played) you sometimes feel the WR make a cut when you're looking somewhere else.

 

[Setmatch45]

I start thinking about my game 2 hours or so before a match. What am I looking to do what are my objectives. I listen to music and get a song in my head and sing it to myself on and off during the match. That is the most easy way to relax and not get nervous. I think about the objectives during the match the most common one for me is to get under the ball in my stroke prep.

 

[msweigert08]

I just make sure I am focused on the ball the whole time the point is being played. If I can keep my eyes on that fuzzy little sucker, the game becomes way simpler.

A psychologist friend of mine explained the "zone" to me in a way that made sense. In his opinion, an athlete performs at their maximum when they can block out all of the 5 senses except vision. Think about that. If you play through all distractions and just see the game, it becomes much easier.

This is awesome! It makes sense. When you are playing good, you forget any little detail that doesnt pertain do your match. This is cool

 

[chatt_town]

For me...the match starts before the warmup. I take every advantage I can. for example...when I'm playing mixed doubles I always get on the court first so I can tell which way the sun is going to be and I always warm up on the bad side. Most men have better serves than I do so I make sure he is serving in the sun. It doesn't matter how the toss goes...I 99 percent of the time get what I want. If I win the toss...I always defer...always. That insures that the man will serve from the side I want...that is unless the other team wins the toss and defers. Most people never use this option. I haven't ran into one yet that has used it. They always elect to serve first.

When playing singles, I take an honest assessment of the other guy in warmup. I can pretty much tell what's up. If it's a guy that doesn't know how to warmup(hitting winners in the warmup) than I pretty much know he will most likely have no patience so I'll hit balls until he hits them out. If he can't move well...I serve everything wide even on the deuce side to open the court up...and I chip back every return to insure he has play every return as opposed to try and blowing him off the court....that is unless I see I clearly have a superior game and then I do blow him off the court as it doesn't matter if I make errors. I spend the next two points slicing to get back ahead in the game. I learned all of this from playng practice matches with guys that were much smarter than I was when I started...I'd get beat but it was practice....and then I'd take what got done to me and apply it in the league and tourneys and that has been a good reason why I've been pretty successful.

I play a lot of 4.0 players at singles and play some close and some blow out matches. They always tell me its my mental game and it gets better with age. I want to know what do you do to get in the right
mindset playing a match? What should I practice?

 

[anubis]

Read "Winning Ugly" by brad gilbert. like "chatt town" says, preparing yourself from the match begins before the match begins. Its in how you prepare your game plan, to nutrition, to warming up, to bringing enough equipment with you to the court. Then theres the aspect of keeping your feet active... don't plant your feet into the ground, you'll be late for everything. Brad calls it "happy feet". dance around on the balls of your feet. Make sure you split step EVERYTHING.

Like for me, I always forget to split step after I serve when I'm returning my opponent's return of my serve. I'm always caught off guard and it makes me lose some service games because of it.

winning a match has to do with literally EVERYTHING you do from before you get into your car to the way you're breathing while on court. if you slack off, forget to do a few things, then before you know it -- you're down a set and can't break your opponent's serve.

 

[floridatennisdude]

That's interesting... I would imagine it would be different for different sports though. For instance you use just as much feeling as sight in football. You feel the opponents moving different directions before you see them when you're blocking and as a CB (where I played) you sometimes feel the WR make a cut when you're looking somewhere else.

Nah, vision would be everything in football for an elite athlete. If you see all the schemes in front of you, you can just play on instincts.

 

[TenS_Ace]

I've just started reading Play Zen-Sational Tennis...so far awesome!

 

[CaldwellYSR]

Nah, vision would be everything in football for an elite athlete. If you see all the schemes in front of you, you can just play on instincts.

Right and instincts involve alot more that vision... especially with blocking where vision is extremely limited anyways. To me instincts involve alot more feeling and reacting than vision.

 

[ATP100]

Always remember, it's just practice for the next time you play/practice.

 

[floridatennisdude]

Right and instincts involve alot more that vision... especially with blocking where vision is extremely limited anyways. To me instincts involve alot more feeling and reacting than vision.

The point is that when you only focus on what you see, reacting just happens. It works for me. When I don't over think, I play beautifully.