Worst anxiety yet on serve

EddieBrock

Hall of Fame
I posted something years ago about having trouble with this and got some great advice that really helped, but can't get the search to work and what happened recently was even worse.

When I was standing at the line to serve my whole body started shaking and I couldn't get it to stop which made me more nervous and self conscious. The whole match I'd been serving well, but at that point I was serving to stay in it and I saw there was a crowd watching me. I tried going through my serving checklist, but it was tough with my body shaking. When I tried hitting the serve it was the same feeling as years ago where my timing was off and it was like my wrist didn't work right and I had no control. It felt like it would twist in the wrong direction. After that I didn't make another serve.

I've been extremely nervous before, but this is the first time I've noticed my body psychically shaking, like someone hit me with a taser. I've only seen shaking like that in movies. At that point is there anything I can do to get myself back to normal? This seems to be something mental that's affecting me psychically Something with breathing or a way to distract myself to get rid of the shaking? I couldn't focus on my serve ritual, technique or anything other than wondering why my body wouldn't stop trembling.
 
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Deleted member 23235

Guest
personally i'd just stop... walk to the back fence, etc... until i calmed down (ignoring opponents yelling at me for stalling)... tell'em you felt "a heart thing"... then just focus on hitting the ball.
i get nervous when i start thinking about how bad the results will be (ie. peeking into the future).
 

S&V-not_dead_yet

Talk Tennis Guru
personally i'd just stop... walk to the back fence, etc... until i calmed down (ignoring opponents yelling at me for stalling)... tell'em you felt "a heart thing"... then just focus on hitting the ball.
i get nervous when i start thinking about how bad the results will be (ie. peeking into the future).

That's what I thought too: say you've got a cramp or something. Or pretend there is a fly or bee buzzing around your head.

This sounds like more than just the serve yips but darned if I could suggest a way to cure it. Does having people watch always trigger it or, more likely, it's seemingly random?
 

TagUrIt

Hall of Fame
I’ve always been under the belief that your match starts before you even set foot on the court. Getting your head right is important, tennis isn’t just a physical game, it’s more mental. There are a few books and even videos on YouTube that talk about the mental side of the game.

Me personally, I listen music that motivates me, think about what I want to focus on or achieve during a match. Another thing I did was take a piece of sports tape and I wrote the word UNSTOPPABLE on it and taped it to inside neck of my racquet. It’s a great reminder and confidence booster.

One more thing, practice that serve man!!! The more it becomes natural to you, the less anxious you’ll be about it.
 
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FiReFTW

Legend
Practice ur serve alot and play matches alot, it will get better as you trust ur serve more.
Im calm on my 1st serve and trust it (i didnt months ago), now its just my 2nd serve left to fix nerves haha.
 
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Deleted member 23235

Guest
OP just curious... how do you do when public speaking?

last time I got nervous like you described, I had to speak in front of 200 people. afterwards, like tennis, I practiced speaking, to not get nervous


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Dan R

Professional
I'm not sure of the rules you were playing under but a medical timeout might be appropriate, or just a bathroom break. Then come back when you have calmed. If this has never happened before maybe you just tell your self it will never happen again and let it slide. I had the only panic attack of my life taking a big test in school once, and I just treated it as an anomaly, never happened again. If you dwell on it it might get further into your head.

I've certainly heard of this before. Golfers talk about their hands shaking over a big putt, basketball players saying the same thing. I don't think there's anything wrong with you. Just a singular moment of pressure.
 

EddieBrock

Hall of Fame
OP just curious... how do you do when public speaking?

last time I got nervous like you described, I had to speak in front of 200 people. afterwards, like tennis, I practiced speaking, to not get nervous


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't do well with public speaking and tend to get very nervous and speak quickly. As nervous as I get with it I've never started physically shaking while doing it before and usually calm down after starting. First dates also get me pretty nervous and make me sweat, but again nothing like this. I wish there was a pressure release button or something to bring you back to normal in these kinds of situations. The serve is so easy when I'm relaxed and everything is flowing, but was debilitating in this last match
 
D

Deleted member 23235

Guest
I don't do well with public speaking and tend to get very nervous and speak quickly. As nervous as I get with it I've never started physically shaking while doing it before and usually calm down after starting. First dates also get me pretty nervous and make me sweat, but again nothing like this. I wish there was a pressure release button or something to bring you back to normal in these kinds of situations. The serve is so easy when I'm relaxed and everything is flowing, but was debilitating in this last match
we've all been there... just means you really care about performing well (whether it's speaking, date, serving, etc...)
best thing to do is to continue putting yourself it that situation until you innoculate yourself of the nervousness... come up with a routine so you can stay in the moment (vs. thinking about the results). and possibly come up with a "reset routine"... ie. when you do get nervous.. do the "reset routine" (ie. walk back to fence, tie your shoe, get water, "forget" something at the bench, look for the vibrasorb thingy, clean your glasses, stop and "strategize" with your partner, chase away a bug, etc...)
 

EddieBrock

Hall of Fame
I’ve always been under the belief that your match starts before you even set foot on the court. Getting your head right is important, tennis isn’t just a physical game, it’s more mental. There are a few books and even videos on YouTube that talk about the mental side of the game.

Me personally, I listen music that motivates me, think about what I want to focus on or achieve during a match. Another thing I did was take a piece of sports tape and I wrote the word UNSTOPPABLE on it and taped it to inside neck of my racquet. It’s a great reminder and confidence booster.

One more thing, practice that serve man!!! The more it becomes natural to you, the less anxious you’ll be about it.

What's frustrating is I've worked a lot of my serve and have played a few matches with only 1 or 2 double faults and where my serve was actually a weapon. I just played the previous day and my kick serve was really jumping and I never missed it. In that moment when I was shaking it was like everything was going fast and even before the swing I could tell something wasn’t right and I was going to miss it.

Speaking of getting your head right something else I remember is I started getting nervous the previous game. I had to break to stay in the match and played some great points to get ahead in the game. I noticed players from both teams coming in to watch and I thought "maybe it would be better not to break so I don't have to serve in front of all these people". When I did break my heart rate and emotions were pretty high. Om my serve I had game point and saw all the people watching and cheering and thought how much I wanted to get the game over with. That's when the shaking started and when I missed that 1st serve and my wrist/arm felt weird I went into full fledged panic.

Looking back it was like my whole body tensed up on contact and I may have also dropped my head and/or body since I was so focused on where the ball was going. I was so scared/frustrated/angry that it's hard to explain. Things were going so fast that stopping definitely seems like good advice
 

user92626

G.O.A.T.
I don't do well with public speaking and tend to get very nervous and speak quickly. As nervous as I get with it I've never started physically shaking while doing it before and usually calm down after starting. First dates also get me pretty nervous and make me sweat, but again nothing like this. I wish there was a pressure release button or something to bring you back to normal in these kinds of situations. The serve is so easy when I'm relaxed and everything is flowing, but was debilitating in this last match

It's normal to feel nervous -- most people do -- but the feeling must be within a tolerable range. Outside of that range it's maybe abnormal and may need medical intervention.

Meds are widely available in the US. Don't waste the opportunity.
 
Practice controlled breathing techniques and then incorporate them into your service motion. Controlled breathing such as meditation and slow breathing can help control nervousness. Sometimes it's nothing more complicated than taking a few slow relaxed breaths before serving. There is a lot of info about various techniques out on the internet so you should be able to find something that works well for you.
 

S&V-not_dead_yet

Talk Tennis Guru
I don't do well with public speaking and tend to get very nervous and speak quickly. As nervous as I get with it I've never started physically shaking while doing it before and usually calm down after starting. First dates also get me pretty nervous and make me sweat, but again nothing like this. I wish there was a pressure release button or something to bring you back to normal in these kinds of situations. The serve is so easy when I'm relaxed and everything is flowing, but was debilitating in this last match

Good thing you weren't publicly speaking just as you were about to serve while playing MXDs with a first date.

Physical exertion usually is a release; screaming has been known to work also although that might cause a ruckus during a genteel tennis match.
 

Keendog

Professional
What's frustrating is I've worked a lot of my serve and have played a few matches with only 1 or 2 double faults and where my serve was actually a weapon. I just played the previous day and my kick serve was really jumping and I never missed it. In that moment when I was shaking it was like everything was going fast and even before the swing I could tell something wasn’t right and I was going to miss it.

Speaking of getting your head right something else I remember is I started getting nervous the previous game. I had to break to stay in the match and played some great points to get ahead in the game. I noticed players from both teams coming in to watch and I thought "maybe it would be better not to break so I don't have to serve in front of all these people". When I did break my heart rate and emotions were pretty high. Om my serve I had game point and saw all the people watching and cheering and thought how much I wanted to get the game over with. That's when the shaking started and when I missed that 1st serve and my wrist/arm felt weird I went into full fledged panic.

Looking back it was like my whole body tensed up on contact and I may have also dropped my head and/or body since I was so focused on where the ball was going. I was so scared/frustrated/angry that it's hard to explain. Things were going so fast that stopping definitely seems like good advice

Look on youtube for guided mindfulness routines. Doing these regularly, at any time not just before a game will help. The more you do them the quicker you will be able to calm yourself down in any situation. Its a good life skill to have.

Also, having the attitude from the start where you don't care if you win or lose but are just there to enjoy a game may help. After all, it's not Wimbledon you're playing for, what difference does it really make?
 

EddieBrock

Hall of Fame
Good thing you weren't publicly speaking just as you were about to serve while playing MXDs with a first date.

Physical exertion usually is a release; screaming has been known to work also although that might cause a ruckus during a genteel tennis match.

Haha, long story, but that actually kind of happened one time! Don't think screaming would work in the middle of a league match, but maybe I could look away and do a little yell into the back fence
 

EddieBrock

Hall of Fame
Look on youtube for guided mindfulness routines. Doing these regularly, at any time not just before a game will help. The more you do them the quicker you will be able to calm yourself down in any situation. Its a good life skill to have.

Also, having the attitude from the start where you don't care if you win or lose but are just there to enjoy a game may help. After all, it's not Wimbledon you're playing for, what difference does it really make?

I really wanted to get a win for myself and for the team. Plus as previously described it was like a snowball effect of getting scared/angry/nervous/frustrated where I've worked so hard on my serve and game in general and I can't believe this is happening again and then have a lot more negative thoughts.
 

S&V-not_dead_yet

Talk Tennis Guru
I really wanted to get a win for myself and for the team. Plus as previously described it was like a snowball effect of getting scared/angry/nervous/frustrated where I've worked so hard on my serve and game in general and I can't believe this is happening again and then have a lot more negative thoughts.

You have to short-circuit the snowball effect somehow; whether it's with mindfulness, breathing, screaming, smashing your racquet on a soft target [not your opponent], you have to figure out what works for you.

Try shifting your focus from results to process: if you DF, don't think "I can't DF again!" because what are you going to be fixated on? [avoiding] DFing.

If instead you can shift to "process", you have something positive rather than negative.

Best is if you can not think at all and just let your training take over. This is the fabled "zone".
 

Keendog

Professional
I really wanted to get a win for myself and for the team. Plus as previously described it was like a snowball effect of getting scared/angry/nervous/frustrated where I've worked so hard on my serve and game in general and I can't believe this is happening again and then have a lot more negative thoughts.

Seriously look at the mindfulness stuff. Everything else in this thread are 'tricks', mindfulness is the cure. If you think it's crap all major professional sporting clubs are now running these programs for their athletes. Try it once and you will see if it works or not.

Essentially if your 'thoughts' are the problem, then 'more thoughts' even if different or opposite in intent are not gonna help. You need to clear your head to perform.
 

EddieBrock

Hall of Fame
Seriously look at the mindfulness stuff. Everything else in this thread are 'tricks', mindfulness is the cure. If you think it's crap all major professional sporting clubs are now running these programs for their athletes. Try it once and you will see if it works or not.

Essentially if your 'thoughts' are the problem, then 'more thoughts' even if different or opposite in intent are not gonna help. You need to clear your head to perform.

Thanks! I'll take a look at it. Seems like it would help in other areas of my life too
 
A little trick that I use sometimes is to pretend that I'm i'm a little tiny person that is sitting on my own shoulder, and I'm just watching the big me. Little me is basically just a scientific researcher that is gathering data. Oh, our test subject looks tense and everyone can see it. He just needs to relax. He needs to calmly release the ball at eye level...etc..

This helps me a lot more in my professional life, when I have to have a conversation that I know might get emotional. I'd guess it's just about gaining a little outside perspective.
 

pfrischmann

Professional
This may not be helpful but A: It's only a tennis game, no one will die if you win or lose. Most people will completely forget about it by dinner time.
Me and my partner play a second serve game. You get one serve and then play out the point. You miss, you lose the point. I gained a lot of trust in my 2nd serve after this.
 

coupergear

Professional
we've all been there... just means you really care about performing well (whether it's speaking, date, serving, etc...)
best thing to do is to continue putting yourself it that situation until you innoculate yourself of the nervousness... come up with a routine so you can stay in the moment (vs. thinking about the results). and possibly come up with a "reset routine"... ie. when you do get nervous.. do the "reset routine" (ie. walk back to fence, tie your shoe, get water, "forget" something at the bench, look for the vibrasorb thingy, clean your glasses, stop and "strategize" with your partner, chase away a bug, etc...)
Great post. Yes psych science shows that busting phobias means facing them as much as possible. Don't shy away from match play. I was struggling w DFs recently, lots of it mental..was up nights prior to matches worrying. Great advice to me was work a full swing kick or topped 2nd serve. Roll your 2nd serve for both 1st and 2nd. This became my go to tactic really has improved my confidence.
 

EddieBrock

Hall of Fame
Great post. Yes psych science shows that busting phobias means facing them as much as possible. Don't shy away from match play. I was struggling w DFs recently, lots of it mental..was up nights prior to matches worrying. Great advice to me was work a full swing kick or topped 2nd serve. Roll your 2nd serve for both 1st and 2nd. This became my go to tactic really has improved my confidence.

To follow up on my post. I played for the 1st time today against a great player and threw in a bunch of DFs, but it was much better than before. It was a friendly match and my opponent told me he could see that after some points I'd get nervous. That being said it was much better than last time and I didn't feel anywhere near the anxiety I did before, but still felt the nervousness before the serve. The serves I missed were by inches instead of being totally a disaster like last time. I caught myself dropping my head and staring at the target too soon while causing me to not finish the swing on my kick serve. I did manage to fix it by the end by using some of the techniques here which snapped me out of it and really slowed me down. I'm going to play again tomorrow and see if I can build on it.
 

coupergear

Professional
To follow up on my post. I played for the 1st time today against a great player and threw in a bunch of DFs, but it was much better than before. It was a friendly match and my opponent told me he could see that after some points I'd get nervous. That being said it was much better than last time and I didn't feel anywhere near the anxiety I did before, but still felt the nervousness before the serve. The serves I missed were by inches instead of being totally a disaster like last time. I caught myself dropping my head and staring at the target too soon while causing me to not finish the swing on my kick serve. I did manage to fix it by the end by using some of the techniques here which snapped me out of it and really slowed me down. I'm going to play again tomorrow and see if I can build on it.
OK, good news sounds like, and good on you for keeping up match play-- but when you say great player is he much better than you are? Only reason I say is because sometimes the mental aspect is easier playing an opponent who you know is better than you. You feel like you can try your best and work on things--knowing that realistically you aren't going to win. It's in the closer matches, against a peer, or those players that you feel like you should be beating, that the nerves can be much worse, IMO. But this could be a good testing grounds to ease yourself into higher pressure situations.
 

EddieBrock

Hall of Fame
OK, good news sounds like, and good on you for keeping up match play-- but when you say great player is he much better than you are? Only reason I say is because sometimes the mental aspect is easier playing an opponent who you know is better than you. You feel like you can try your best and work on things--knowing that realistically you aren't going to win. It's in the closer matches, against a peer, or those players that you feel like you should be beating, that the nerves can be much worse, IMO. But this could be a good testing grounds to ease yourself into higher pressure situations.

Not sure how to qualify how much better. If I'm playing my best and he's having an off day I can keep up and maybe beat him. Otherwise if I'm at all off he will beat me pretty badly.
 

S&V-not_dead_yet

Talk Tennis Guru
Not sure how to qualify how much better. If I'm playing my best and he's having an off day I can keep up and maybe beat him. Otherwise if I'm at all off he will beat me pretty badly.

Playing against a better player is easier psychologically because he's supposed to win.'

The best test of your mental toughness will be when you are playing poorly against someone worse than you. Because that's when expectations will kick in ["I should be beating this guy"] and weigh you down.
 

Bagumbawalla

Talk Tennis Guru
For moments when you are nervous it helps to have a go-to serve that you can rely on. It doesn't have to be great- just something that you are confident it will land in the box. Practice this serve until you can place it without even thinking. When you are shaky, this can be both your first and second serve.
 

coupergear

Professional
Playing against a better player is easier psychologically because he's supposed to win.'

The best test of your mental toughness will be when you are playing poorly against someone worse than you. Because that's when expectations will kick in ["I should be beating this guy"] and weigh you down.
Totally agree here. My mental game really suffers against players who i perceive that are worse than me. I really get a bad attitude, negative self talk. More nerves, not swinging out but being tenative. I need work here.
 
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