Match Day Awareness: Avoid These 7 Mistakes as a Tennis Player
- Avoid becoming too much of a fan instead of a player. Don’t look up other players stats or rankings right before you play them. All of those things will make you unnecessarily nervous and will distract you from your goals for that day. You ultimately only have one thing to play, and that is the ball- regardless of who is hitting it.
- Avoid thinking winning is the most important goal. Winning is not everything! Sometimes matches where we play our best tennis result in a loss. Recognize the aspects of your game you executed well, and note what you need to improve upon. You have the opportunity to become a better player every day, despite the outcome of the match. You will almost always learn more from losing than winning, so pay attention to the lessons.
- Avoid getting into line call arguments with your opponent(s). It is ok to ask if they are sure about a call, but do so in a calm and respectful manner. Arguments typically linger with players and affect numerous points after they occur. Remember, no one is perfect. It is important not to overreact in these situations. Besides, you can’t control what your opponent decides to call, but you can control your reaction and your attitude towards them. Remember not to put so much emphasis on one point of a match. If you do lose a point because of your opponent’s call, just focus on getting the next point.
- Avoid playing “not to lose”. This promotes playing tentative tennis, long moon-ball rallies, and is a sure fire way to be disappointed with yourself when you get off the court. If you feel yourself approaching this mindset, you know you have put too much pressure on yourself to win a match. Instead, just focus on your strategy and game plan, play aggressive, and play to win.
- Avoid lazy match preparation. There are things you can’t control in tennis: who your coach is, who your teammates are, what injuries might happen, how much practice time you get before a match, etc. But, there are things you can control: how much sleep you get the night before a match, what you eat on match days, the attitude you have during matches, the effort you put into your matches, and your pre-match routine. It is in your best interest to control the things you can and don’t stress about the things that you can’t.
- Avoid giving good opponents too much respect. Perhaps their NTRP Rating is higher than yours, or they are a higher seed in the tournament. If you approach a match with the attitude that the other player is better than you, then it will just undermine your abilities.You have lost the match before you even step on the court. Instead, focus on your strategy, being mentally tough, and maintaining a positive attitude. Do these things well, and you might beat that team – or at least put up a good fight! Don’t forget that being the “underdog” is not a bad thing! Use it to your advantage by catching the other team off guard.
- Avoid anything that is not going to help you become a better athlete, student, and person. Drugs, alcohol and poor nutrition will have you feeling far less than your best. Chug a mountain dew and eat 3 brownies before your match and your body is sure to pay the consequences! You train for 20 hours of tennis practice a week. You work on your mental toughness and strategy. Then you get to match day and your mind is foggy because you stayed up too late the night before having drinks with friends. Tennis is an endurance sport. You need to have the mental clarity and stamina to endure 2-3 hour matches. Making the wrong choices can erase countless hours of training on the court. Don’t let poor choices get in the way of you and your goals and dreams.