How can i become intense before my tennis match and during when i already have it?
Okay so the other day i won the number one spot on my high school varsity tennis team. I played pretty good, i had a high level of intensity. I was yelling come on and all of that. the score was 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the third set. This week we had 2 preseason dual matches i play 1 mixed and 1 singles, the first dual match we won our doubles, but i played horrbily. my singles match was horrible i was tight and i had hardly any intensity, the score was 2-6, the second set i won 6-0 but the tiebreaker was atrocious and i lost 7-10 i was not goin after balls at all. The second dual match we lost our mixed match mainly once again because of me. I lost my singles match 0 and 1. Talk about ridiculous. Don't think im a bad player im pretty good enough to go to regionals 2 times in 5A for Doubles. I just have mental problems.
How do you start and raise your intensity, calm your nerves, and relax during my match, but not relax away my match like i did in my first singles match? Any good mental tips would be greatly appreciated.
I know that this is a lot to take in, but if you have been in the situation i think u can handle it.
Thanks a bunch,
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Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Ok first of all I would like to say I am a top 100 player in the ITF circuit which is 18's and under in the World. (Itf is international tennis federation) So I def know the situations you have been in! I have played high school tennis, and played pro tournaments. I would like to tell you that everyone has these type of matches. You recently earned a number one spot on your high school team! That is awesome! You have already proven yourself and yes there is pressure because you are considered the best player on your team...right? To help raise your intensity, just think of how hard you have worked to get there! That should be enough. You are #1 on your tennis team...do you realize how awesome that is? Take some time to just be proud of yourself! Pump yourself up by trying to be even better, trying to beat everybody, you should HATE to lose more than you love to win. No the reason for not running after balls to me is just a tank. I am not trying to be mean, but there is no reason to not run after a ball is there? I don't care if you are playing Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. It simply does.not.matter. You always give 100% no matter what and always think there is a chance. I recently played a match where i was down a set and 5-2 and 4-0 and I came back and won the set 7-6 (8-6) in the tiebreaker. You always fight. Running down balls will not also get you faster, but getting to more balls will make your opponents more nervous because they feel like they have to go for better shots and therefore they will miss. It happens to me all the time, where I just run down balls and even if the last ball ends up being a short ball, sometimes they will miss it and the same thing happens to me. When I play someone who is getting a lot of balls back, I am thinking to myself "Uh oh on this short ball I have to go for more because I know she might get it back" and then what happens? maybe I go for too much and miss it. I also use a towel to slow myself down when the nerves start to kick in. What my tendency to do when I get nervous or upset is i tend to "rush" i will play one point after another without even taking a chance to just breathe. Go back to the fence and do what every player does...just look at your strings, straighten them out, go to the towel wipe your face of and take a few deep breaths. Jump up and down a few times and then go back to the baseline. Now I know this might seems a little cliche, but it really does help...why do you think all the pros do it? haha. Now to get yourself going I usually jump rope or do some form of stretching/jogging before I go on court. It helps getting your muscles to fire faster. Also since your in a different situation than I am, i usually talk to my coach about the things or "goals" I have set for myself to do in the match. Before you go out just think of the things you want to work on. Maybe you lose, but when you accomplish your goals in the match you really aren't losing at all. Now the thing is you still want to stay relaxed but focused right? Well im assuming that if you play tennis then you think its fun. It should be fun! I mean you get to go out and play outside and hit a little yellow ball around, get some good exercise, and have fun. So just remember, if you go out there and try as hard as you can, and COMPETE!...you will be fine. Those are the main things. Just have fun.....love to compete, hate to lose.
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