Worst choke yet

[Harry8241]

I've had some issues closing matches out/choking when leading recently - play in a league where it's single set matches - 3-0, 4-1 and 5-2 up against players who I normally (but not always) beat.

Most recently I was serving 5-0, 40-0 and ended up losing the game by taking too many risks for a Hollywood finish, followed by a total mental collapse, classic tightness not able to swing through etc and lost 10-8 in a tiebreak. My opponent in this instance is normally roughly similar standard to me, little lower, so a narrow loss on paper isn't a terrible result, but given the lead I had it's a monumental choke

I tend to start matches well and fade, doesn't seem to be a fitness issue as I play single set matches, run half marathon distances weekly and am in my late 30s in good health.

What are the best strategies for 'staying the course' if ahead and not letting the intrusive thoughts win?

 

[10sbeast888]

.

 

[10sbeast888]

Don’t be afraid of winning or losing. Be afraid of not performing at your best.

 

[user92626]

Don’t be afraid of winning or losing. Be afraid of not performing at your best.

Semantics. Losing definitely means not performing good enough.

 

[ErrorMachine]

Practice closing out the match. Whatever you were doing up to that point, keep doing it.
Alternatively, play every point like it’s match point: Vamos!

 

[Dropshot777]

I've had some issues closing matches out/choking when leading recently - play in a league where it's single set matches - 3-0, 4-1 and 5-2 up against players who I normally (but not always) beat.

Most recently I was serving 5-0, 40-0 and ended up losing the game by taking too many risks for a Hollywood finish, followed by a total mental collapse, classic tightness not able to swing through etc and lost 10-8 in a tiebreak. My opponent in this instance is normally roughly similar standard to me, little lower, so a narrow loss on paper isn't a terrible result, but given the lead I had it's a monumental choke

I tend to start matches well and fade, doesn't seem to be a fitness issue as I play single set matches, run half marathon distances weekly and am in my late 30s in good health.

What are the best strategies for 'staying the course' if ahead and not letting the intrusive thoughts win?

Just be prepared to play the match points like your life depends on it. Ideally you should put the same effort into every point.

 

[StringSnapper]

Semantics. Losing definitely means not performing good enough.

i think what 10sbeast said here is the right mentally regardless that will help performance

 

[StringSnapper]

I've had some issues closing matches out/choking when leading recently - play in a league where it's single set matches - 3-0, 4-1 and 5-2 up against players who I normally (but not always) beat.

Most recently I was serving 5-0, 40-0 and ended up losing the game by taking too many risks for a Hollywood finish, followed by a total mental collapse, classic tightness not able to swing through etc and lost 10-8 in a tiebreak. My opponent in this instance is normally roughly similar standard to me, little lower, so a narrow loss on paper isn't a terrible result, but given the lead I had it's a monumental choke

I tend to start matches well and fade, doesn't seem to be a fitness issue as I play single set matches, run half marathon distances weekly and am in my late 30s in good health.

What are the best strategies for 'staying the course' if ahead and not letting the intrusive thoughts win?

thats the worst choke i've ever heard of - losing 6 straight games an the tiebreak! i mean, it can't statistically get worse than that. the mother of all chokes!

 

[Dropshot777]

thats the worst choke i've ever heard of - losing 6 straight games an the tiebreak! i mean, it can't statistically get worse than that. the mother of all chokes!

Okay, imagine this, you were up 5-0 40-0 in the first set and double fault 5 times in a row. You don’t hit a single shot in for the next four games. At 5-5 you win the game to love and then have 40-0 again at 6-5 on your serve, then you double fault five times again and find yourself in a tiebreaker. Up 6-0 in the tiebreak you lose five points in a row. At 6-5 you hit a serve 10 feet out that happens to hit them winning you the set.

In the second set you’re up 0-5 0-40. Your opponent only gets second serves in until deuce but you miss every single one of them. You have 20 ads in that game and lose every single one of them. Then lose the game. You lose that set 7-5 after having 40 more mps

The second set basically the same things happens, you blow 50 more mps and your opponent wins on their first.

 

[LuckyR]

I've had some issues closing matches out/choking when leading recently - play in a league where it's single set matches - 3-0, 4-1 and 5-2 up against players who I normally (but not always) beat.

Most recently I was serving 5-0, 40-0 and ended up losing the game by taking too many risks for a Hollywood finish, followed by a total mental collapse, classic tightness not able to swing through etc and lost 10-8 in a tiebreak. My opponent in this instance is normally roughly similar standard to me, little lower, so a narrow loss on paper isn't a terrible result, but given the lead I had it's a monumental choke

I tend to start matches well and fade, doesn't seem to be a fitness issue as I play single set matches, run half marathon distances weekly and am in my late 30s in good health.

What are the best strategies for 'staying the course' if ahead and not letting the intrusive thoughts win?

Was it a question of Unforced Errors?

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Semantics. Losing definitely means not performing good enough.

@10sbeast888

No, not semantics. Very surprised at this response. This sounds like the mentality of a perfectionist… too focused on the destination & unable to enjoy the journey.

I’ve lost to opponents who were significantly better (usually much higher ranked) and felt very good about it — cuz I played some of my best tennis, perhaps even raised my level, in that loss.

OTOH, I have prevailed over weaker opponents but was not at all proud of my performance — cuz my play was sloppy & uninspired in that victory. No satisfaction in all in that W.

Bottom line. I would much rather play close to my peak and lose rather than play like cr@p and win.

 

[Dropshot777]

@10sbeast888

No, not semantics. Very surprised at this response. I’ve lost to opponents who were significantly better (usually much higher ranked) and felt very good about it — cuz I played some of my best tennis, perhaps even raised my level, in that loss.

OTOH, I have prevailed over weaker opponents but was not at all proud of my performance — cuz I my play was sloppy & uninspired in that victory. No satisfaction in all in that W.

Bottom line. I would much rather play close to my peak and lose rather than play like cr@p and win.

I’d rather win. I’ll play like my life is on the line. If I’m not playing well that day I play as good as I can and if I lose I make them earn it. But I agree that you do not want to think about the score. You play every point as hard as you can.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Inner Tennis — (Timothy Gallwey)

The Inner Game of Tennis Summary - Timothy Gallwey - Aure's Notes

The Inner Game of Tennis is an explanation of how the mind works, why we are using it wrong, how to use it right, and why it's important and relevant if we want to reach the peak of our abilities.

auresnotes.com

Minimize caffeine intake prior to a match if you suspect it might cause the jitters. I’ve experienced the positive effects of coffee / caffeine when playing matches — for the first 30 minutes or so. But then had that caffeine turn on me after a while — resulting in jitters, self-doubt, negative & counter-productive thoughts, etc.

Some ppl find that coffee works quite well for them if they minimize the added sugar and supplement the caffeine with L-Theanine (a relaxing amino acid that is naturally found in green tea).

Breathing exercises can help prevent or minimize choking. Staying active (body movement, shadow swings, etc) between points can also help considerably.

Note that many pro players will turn away from the court and adjust their strings. They do not do this because their strings need adjusting. They perform this activity to help them calm down and focus.

From The Inner Game of Tennis, you might try some techniques to help quiet your hyper-critical, judgmental mind can be over analytical at times. This type of thinking often causes too much tension and gets in the way of peak performance.

One of these techniques is Bounce-Hit. I have used a variation of this that I referred to as Bounce-Count.

 

[user92626]

@10sbeast888

No, not semantics. Very surprised at this response. This sounds like the mentality of a perfectionist… too focused on the destination & unable to enjoy the journey.

I’ve lost to opponents who were significantly better (usually much higher ranked) and felt very good about it — cuz I played some of my best tennis, perhaps even raised my level, in that loss.

OTOH, I have prevailed over weaker opponents but was not at all proud of my performance — cuz I my play was sloppy & uninspired in that victory. No satisfaction in all in that W.

Bottom line. I would much rather play close to my peak and lose rather than play like cr@p and win.

@10sbeast888

It is semantics to me, SA. Winning / losing is the result of, and what I use to judge my performance. They are synonymous to me.

"too focused on the destination & unable to enjoy the journey."

This can be construed differently too. 1 is if the journey is tied to the destination, or 2 is the journey can be irrelevant to the destination. You take #2. You don't care about win/lose (destination) as long as the journey (your playing) is acceptable to you.

 

[user92626]

I’ve lost to opponents who were significantly better (usually much higher ranked) and felt very good about it — cuz I played some of my best tennis, perhaps even raised my level, in that loss.

OTOH, I have prevailed over weaker opponents but was not at all proud of my performance — cuz I my play was sloppy & uninspired in that victory. No satisfaction in all in that W.

Bottom line. I would much rather play close to my peak and lose rather than play like cr@p and win.

I have heard this a few times, but I do not experience it. Thus, I do not consider it.

If I play my best and lose, I still see it as bad performance, a failure. Why wouldn't it be? I play & aim to win, but fail. If I somehow feel better about a lose, it's probably a coping mechanism. A sort of excuse.

But how often do these weird things (perform very well but lose, or reverse) occur? If they happen they are likely outliers, exceptions or your failure in picking opponents, ie lopsided, playing with a 3.0... "play like crap and win". They shouldn't be in our normal plays / statistics.

 

[Harry8241]

Was it a question of Unforced Errors?

Mostly yep, the 40-0 game was trying to hit too big, the next 5 games a rabbit in headlights freeze where I could barely hit the ball. Levelled it out a bit at 5-5 to hold once at 5-6 to take it to breaker and the breaker wasn't too bad as I was in 'F it' mode and swinging it, but by then the damage was done

Think I'll go back to the inner game of tennis, and also try remind myself it's just rec tennis

One thing that helps me early on in matches is to have a plan for what I'm going to do between points (e.g. 3 deep breaths, decide tactic for serve/return plus 1). I've got that down relatively well but it fades as the match progresses if the score is one sided either way. A second tactic I've used with occasional success is to leave the score keeping to opponent and count the points where I've won through a winner or forcing an error so I reward assertive play and try stop going into my shell

 

[Harry8241]

thats the worst choke i've ever heard of - losing 6 straight games an the tiebreak! i mean, it can't statistically get worse than that. the mother of all chokes!

Yep it's pretty bad - was very much ready to walk off at 5-4. Hopefully the only silver linings is that it can never (statistically) be worse than this, and the sky didn't fall in and after a few days even I stopped thinking about it. Though not looking forward to my next match.....

 

[StringSnapper]

Yep it's pretty bad - was very much ready to walk off at 5-4. Hopefully the only silver linings is that it can never (statistically) be worse than this, and the sky didn't fall in and after a few days even I stopped thinking about it. Though not looking forward to my next match.....

Think of that serenity prayer quote "work on what I can change, accept what I cannot". You can do your best each shot, but you cannot change the result. You're still going to lose 6-0 if your opponent is Alcaraz or Sinner. But that's not what your issue is anyway, your issue is choking with a results-oriented mindset, so instead make it a process-oriented mindset and you'll be golden.

 

[ey039524]

I've always told my son this: play to learn and improve. It's a long process. You learn more from losing.

You wouldn't have started a thread if you closed it out 6-0. Now you're actually thinking about how to learn from this loss. You'll be a better player bc of it. Embrace the process and don't focus on the result. The results will come as you continue to learn and improve. Losing is part of the process. Good luck in the future. I doubt you'll ever lose at this score again.

 

[Harry8241]

I've always told my son this: play to learn and improve. It's a long process. You learn more from losing.

You wouldn't have started a thread if you closed it out 6-0. Now you're actually thinking about how to learn from this loss. You'll be a better player bc of it. Embrace the process and don't focus on the result. The results will come as you continue to learn and improve. Losing is part of the process. Good luck in the future. I doubt you'll ever lose at this score again.

Thanks man appreciate it - yeh definitely motivated to get back on the horse and learn from it. Think the match I learned most from was one I hit 2x doubles per service game - after that I learned how to hit a reliable kick and never looked back. Even that didn't desert me when everything else did in my choke match!

 

[ey039524]

Thanks man appreciate it - yeh definitely motivated to get back on the horse and learn from it. Think the match I learned most from was one I hit 2x doubles per service game - after that I learned how to hit a reliable kick and never looked back. Even that didn't desert me when everything else did in my choke match!

It happens.

My son and partner just lost a match 9-11 in the 3rd set match tiebreak against the #2 seeds. Some of us were spectating and thought they won 10-8, but we must've had the wrong score bc they switched ends again at 9-9 apparently, and then they lost. They went down 1-5 in the beginning of the TB and came back. Afterwards, we talked a little about losing focus and missing sitters, which become a two point switch in a TB.

 

[LuckyR]

Mostly yep, the 40-0 game was trying to hit too big, the next 5 games a rabbit in headlights freeze where I could barely hit the ball. Levelled it out a bit at 5-5 to hold once at 5-6 to take it to breaker and the breaker wasn't too bad as I was in 'F it' mode and swinging it, but by then the damage was done

Think I'll go back to the inner game of tennis, and also try remind myself it's just rec tennis

One thing that helps me early on in matches is to have a plan for what I'm going to do between points (e.g. 3 deep breaths, decide tactic for serve/return plus 1). I've got that down relatively well but it fades as the match progresses if the score is one sided either way. A second tactic I've used with occasional success is to leave the score keeping to opponent and count the points where I've won through a winner or forcing an error so I reward assertive play and try stop going into my shell

Well, at least you have a good understanding of your issues with your Mental Game, so you don't waste time working on your strokes.

 

[Harry8241]

Well, at least you have a good understanding of your issues with your Mental Game, so you don't waste time working on your strokes.

Oh that's a whole different issue don't worry about that!

 

[fuzz nation]

I've had some issues closing matches out/choking when leading recently - play in a league where it's single set matches - 3-0, 4-1 and 5-2 up against players who I normally (but not always) beat.

Most recently I was serving 5-0, 40-0 and ended up losing the game by taking too many risks for a Hollywood finish, followed by a total mental collapse, classic tightness not able to swing through etc and lost 10-8 in a tiebreak. My opponent in this instance is normally roughly similar standard to me, little lower, so a narrow loss on paper isn't a terrible result, but given the lead I had it's a monumental choke

I tend to start matches well and fade, doesn't seem to be a fitness issue as I play single set matches, run half marathon distances weekly and am in my late 30s in good health.

What are the best strategies for 'staying the course' if ahead and not letting the intrusive thoughts win?

I've been coaching high school teams for a long time and one of the most valuable things I've coaxed out of a few of the sluggers is a change of mindset that I like to call "counting to one". The idea is to make the scoreboard less of a central fixation by directing you mind's eye more toward whatever is your simple plan for this next point and nothing else. Constantly check in between points on what you're going to do right now to either give yourself an edge or at least deny your opponent the initiative... and do that over and over again.

These plans aren't complex. One could simply be to hit every ball deep and cross court. Maybe send every shot into that opponent's weaker side until he misses or coughs up a ball you can attack. Time to make instant pressure? Let's do an unexpected serve and volley (or chip and charge off a return of serve). Think over what you're going to do for this next point, play the point, and then revisit your plan for the next one. If you're focused on this instead of every mortifying thing that could possibly go wrong perhaps at the end of the set, you can become more immune to scoreboard pressure (which is only something that we manufacture between the ears).

It sounds as though you don't do a lot of this right now. If you did, the scoreboard numbers probably wouldn't be strangling you anything like what you described above. If you have a practice pal or maybe an upcoming match where you can practice this, I'll bet that you can learn to make this mental ritual into more of a habit. One more great luxury of deciding on a simple plan for each point is that once the ball goes into play, there's not much to figure out. Regardless of what your opponent sends your way, you already know what you want to do with the ball.

 

[Harry8241]

I've been coaching high school teams for a long time and one of the most valuable things I've coaxed out of a few of the sluggers is a change of mindset that I like to call "counting to one". The idea is to make the scoreboard less of a central fixation by directing you mind's eye more toward whatever is your simple plan for this next point and nothing else. Constantly check in between points on what you're going to do right now to either give yourself an edge or at least deny your opponent the initiative... and do that over and over again.

These plans aren't complex. One could simply be to hit every ball deep and cross court. Maybe send every shot into that opponent's weaker side until he misses or coughs up a ball you can attack. Time to make instant pressure? Let's do an unexpected serve and volley (or chip and charge off a return of serve). Think over what you're going to do for this next point, play the point, and then revisit your plan for the next one. If you're focused on this instead of every mortifying thing that could possibly go wrong perhaps at the end of the set, you can become more immune to scoreboard pressure (which is only something that we manufacture between the ears).

It sounds as though you don't do a lot of this right now. If you did, the scoreboard numbers probably wouldn't be strangling you anything like what you described above. If you have a practice pal or maybe an upcoming match where you can practice this, I'll bet that you can learn to make this mental ritual into more of a habit. One more great luxury of deciding on a simple plan for each point is that once the ball goes into play, there's not much to figure out. Regardless of what your opponent sends your way, you already know what you want to do with the ball.

This is really useful advice, have been trying this to quiet the noise in my head.

Have now won 4 matches on the spin, no issue closing out the one that was tight. Problem not totally solved I'm sure, but feel like I have some tools.

Also the 'what's the worst that can happen' happened- this choke was worse than a 0-6, 0-6 I think and in the end nothing changed in my life or my hacker tennis and no one cared! Slightly liberating!