This is the third and last in a series of articles which will teach you how to maximize the most out of your game and help you become a smarter tennis player when preparing to play a league match or a tournament.
- The Night Before The Match
- Game Day
- Match Play
Match Play
According to USTA research, the player who wins the first set will go on to win the match 7 out of 10 times. This is why it’s crucial to prepare properly and get off to a great start.
Receive first: Most people you play against have weak serves, start the match nervous and not fully warmed up so why not take advantage and break early.
Your game plan: Come out and execute your game plan and see if it’s working. If it is, continue to execute, if it’s not working find out why and make the proper adjustments.
Right gear: Start at 65-75% of your full power and as the match progresses take it up a notch.
Be consistent: Make opponent hit lots of shots so you can find out what their strengths and weakness are.
Make adjustments: Determine opponent’s strength and weakness that day and make the right game plan adjustments.
The Change Over
Use every changeover to think of what just happened and how you want to play the next two games. We never see a pro player skip the changeover, so neither should you.
Hydrate yourself
Drink 4 oz of water to hydrate.
Drink 4 oz of Gatorade or PowerAde to replenish energy level
Utilize the skittles when needed.
Get a feel
What did and did not worked the last couple of games?
Did anything surprised you?
Give yourself a pep talk.
Relax or energize
When you feel rushed and overwhelmed you will need to calm yourself down and relax by taking long breaths or telling yourself to calm down and slow things down. Like coach Wooden said, “Be quick but don’t hurry”. When you are feeling slow and sluggish you will need to energize yourself by quickly moving your feet while you sit down and sprint from the chair to the baseline.
Developing Physical and Mental Rituals
Getting ready to serve
Use the same physical ritual for first and second serve regardless of the situation. You have to decide how many times you will bounce the ball. You should not bounce the ball more or less times when the points are more important. Visualize where you are going to serve the ball, where you think your opponent is likely to hit the return and where you are going to hit the next shot. Play out the point in your head like a movie.
Getting ready to return a serve
The physical ritual should be the same for first and second serve return. The only difference is where you will stand to return the serves. The mental ritual for first serve returns should be to mentally visualize your-self neutralizing their big serve by getting the return deep to the hash mark or low cross court for doubles. This can be done by seeing your-self shortening your #1 (racquet preparation) position and moving forward using the proper footwork technique.
The mental ritual for second serve returns should be to visualize where you are going to hit the return according to where your opponent serves the ball. If you are returning from the deuce side tell yourself that if the ball comes to your forehand, you will return the ball ¾ angle. If the serve comes to your backhand you will return deep down the line. If the serve is good and pulls you out wide on either side, you will return deep and hard down the middle.
When you win the point
Pump your fist to give yourself a boost of confidence.
Change racquet to non hitting hand.
Walk tall with shoulders back.
Walk with energy.
Verbally tell your-self that you hit a great shot or made a great play.
When you lose the point with unforced error
Shadows stroke the shot you just missed and visualized your-self making the shot.
Change racquet to non hitting hand and look at strings.
Walk tall with shoulders back.
Walk with energy.
When you lose the point by opponent hitting a good shot
Verbally acknowledge your opponent hit a good shot.
Clap using your hand and racquet.
Takes pressure off of you.
Starting the Second Set
First two games of the second set are the most important. Regardless of what happened in the first set, how you play the two first games of the second set will set the tone for the rest of the match. What tone do you want to set?
If you won the set
Stay with the game plan. Keep applying pressure (if you lift your foot off a snake’s head before you crush it, what will the snake do? ATTACK. Respect your opponent till the end.
If you lost the set
Think of why you lost the set.
Make the right adjustments.
Great time for a pep talk.
Closing the Match
One of the most difficult times in a set or match can be when you are given the opportunity to serve for the win. One of the main reasons for problems at this time in the match stems from your own attitude. Many players assume that the set or match is over and that they’ve already conquered the problem just by being able to serve for it. Others fear that they won’t be able to finish off the opponent.
Stay in the moment: The worst thing you can think about is that your opponent is just going to let you have the match. What we call “The Locker Room Effect (LRE).” LRE is when you are still on the court but see yourself in the locker room with the victory a little too prematurely. Stay in the moment and keep the pressure on because a wounded animal is a dangerous one.
Maintain winning plan: There is a reason why you are serving for the match. Continue to do what got you there. This means that if you were serving and volleying continue to serve and volley.
Play like you are behind: Players have a tendency to play better when their backs are against the wall, so trick yourself to believing you are behind to feel the urgency to play better.
Post Match
After emotions have settled down (30-minutes to several hours), take time to reflect on the match by writing in your journal. This is a great time to learn about yourself and your opponent. Keeping this journal will also help you if you ever play the same players again.
- Enter the tournament date.
- Opponent’s name and final score.
- Review in writing your match goals and specific successes and failures.
- Connect the match in a positive way to your development.
- Make a list of the things learned from the match that can help you in the future about your opponent.
- Discuss the match with your coach (if possible).
- Review the extent to which you followed your pre-match preparation routine.
- End your writing session by creating the best story you can about the match that will drive new learning and confidence.
To your tennis success,
Jimmy Mendieta