I am very angry about the way I played a match yesterday. Please help?

Question

Hi, I went to play a tournament tennis match yesterday. I won the first round, but when I found out who I was going to play in the 2nd round I was upset. I have played this girl twice already, and the 1st set of the 1st match, I won. But then, in the later sets I have been steamrolled. Before I went to play my 2nd round match, I kept telling myself "I can do it, I will win!" but I lost 60 62. I was really mad because I gave her the match. For some reason, when I play her, my whole body like freezes and I cant put my full power over the ball or place it where I want to. I do believe I can beat her if I play my best tennis, but how do I get my best tennis out? Please help, or I will keep criticizing myself until the next time I play a match (that wont be for a long time, maybe September).

Answer 1

Your condition is psychological. It is quite common. Many people suffer from it as well. I even did. I was playing a tournament in B.C. on Vancouver Island. I had a great warm-up with this opponent. I was not impressed with his game. Nothing exceptional or extraordinary but as soon as we took off or warm ups to get ready to play the first point what should I see but a University of Western Mustangs Tennis team polo. Excuse me did you play for Western. Yes for 3 years. Oh. I was done. We used to loose to Western in the OUAA tournament every year. My fate was sealed. An opponent I should have beat I now got beaten by 6-2, 6-3.

What you need to do is not think about this opponent just go out and play your game. Easier said than done but try to block out any bad experiences or thoughts. There are some good books and DVDs on the subject also. Give one of them a try. The mind is a very dangerous and very powerful thing. What you think about most becomes reality. So start thinking how great you are and how no one can beat you. See yourself winning your next match against her. Whether you think you can or think you can't .... you're right.

Answer 2

first of all, i feel your pain. its never fun to lose 6-0, 6-2, even if it gets your team to the restaurant before it closes, like on the tennis team away meets!

the most important thing for you to do during your match is to relax. a good thing for you to do is to slow down when you feel yourself tensing up and take some deep, slow breaths. these will decrease your heart rate and will make you feel better. stress is a physiological condition and controling your breathing helps with the physical side of things.

another answer is in the question you've asked yourself. don't worry about the previous two (three now) matches with this opponent; the only one that matters is the one before you. same deal with points, games or sets. don't preoccupy yourself up over points, games or sets that have already been won or lost, just focus on the point you're playing. you can't win all the points in a match all at once, so don't try to do that in your mind either.

the only thing constructive thing you can do with your previous three matches is learn from them. did you see any weaknesses in her game that your want to take advantage of? is one of your strokes breaking down and causes you to give away points? come up with a plan based on your experiences so that when you look across the net and see her, you know it ain't no thang cause you know how to take her down. you need to remember that your opponent is human too! that means that she has weaknesses just like you do.

if you didn't, then maybe you need to develop a weapon (serve, forehand, something) or change in strategy (some into net, etc) so that you have confidence the next time you play her. you only have till sept., but if you work hard, she might not even know what hit her. and if you pull out something she's not seen you your previous 3 meetings, it might rattle her enough for you to have a chance.

Answer 3

i have the same problem, but i am getting better w/ it. i have played this girl a million time(actually more like 10) and she is just the tiniest bit better than i am, and what makes it even worse is we take lessons together and are really good friends. when we play each other in a tournament she saves up all her energy for my match. she knows that she can beat me, but she also knows that i make her work the hardest for it.

to start w/ dont look at the draw before you play. i recently play in a tournament and my coach and my mom both wouldnt let me look at the draw. when you look at you get your mind into a state that makes you think way to hard about the upcoming match. it is much better to just walk out onto the court not knowing who you are playing, it gives you less time to worry and think about it.

playing the same girl that i had lost to many times had become very diffecult on my mental sate. rather than thinking okay we know she can win lets just get this over w/ think NO this time im going to do it!!

also she will begin to think that beating you is nolonger a challege once she has done it so many time this then gives you your opportunity to step it up.

think of her as your greatest callenge and dont be afaid of playing her, each time you do you will get better.

hope this help&go get her!!!! =]

Answer 4

Play by your instincts. I think a habit all tennis players have is the tendency to over-analyze. The reason Sampras and Federer do so well on grass is because they don't have time to fuss over where to hit the ball.

Next time you play her, play at a tempo you're completely comfortable with. if she plays too slow, either take the ball early or hit a bit bigger (make sure you're able to control it). If she plays too fast, take a moment and breathe.

whatever you do, be out there to enjoy yourself and to enjoy the game. Trust me, you'll mess up plenty of times in tennis, be it unforced errors, shanks/mishits, or just an off day. We all do. but that's the reason we keep on playing.

Answer 5

Over the 2 legs I would say the Real were the better side. First leg especially on another day Real could have scored 4 or 5 , Man U may have been slightly better 2nd leg but not enough to be the better team over both legs. And no its not a new rule, watch carlton cole who does it against everton and actually does get the ball first, still got a red card

Answer 6

Your problem is actually very common at every level from the novice tennis players to the professionals. Many players will find that no matter how good they are there is always one particular opponent out there that seems to be their "nemesis" rival. Federer's nemesis is Rafael Nadal. Nadal's nemesis is James Blake. Maria Sharapova's nemesis is Serena Williams. A player which even though they are on about the same level as you seems to beat you way more often than you beat them, or tends to beat you in important matches or by a huge margin. Everyone else is right so far in saying that it's basically a mental thing.

The problem usually starts when you start to think about "who" you are playing right before the match starts. Knowing that this particular person has a winning record against you, or does not seem to be intimidated by your game, or won a really big match against you on an important occasion or whatever. There is always that one thing in the back of your mind that keeps telling you that you have to play this player differently than you play other players or differently than you played them the last time. And that is where you usually screw up. A lot of people try to change their game when they play that player becaues they know that the last time it didn't work. What people don't realize is that when you change your game, you often play right into your opponents hands.

DON'T CHANGE YOUR GAME. Just play more consistently than you played them the last time. Play your game but within yourself. Be aggressive, but only at the right moments. Don't get frustrated when/if they get the first break. Don't panic and start letting your emotions get involved. Don't let them know that you are intimidated by them. If they see fear in your eyes, they will have a definete advantage.

I've actually been on both sides of this fence before. I'm a descent recreational player (never played real tournaments or anything), but there was always this one guy who I knew was on the same level as I was (maybe slightly better) but that I could beat if I played well enough. The first time we played, it was a really close match (something like 6-4, 3-6, 6-4). I lost, but I didn't think that I played badly and I felt like I challenge him. But ever since then, when I played him I always had that loss in the back of my mind. The next couple of times we played, he demolished me (scores like 6-2, 6-1) and I began to loose confidence when playing him. He was hitting winners from everywhere, I was making errors, he was getting lucky shots, let cords, mishits that stayed in, balls just catching the outside of the line. In those matches it seemed like nothing was going my way and before I knew it it was over. Looking back on it, I realized that by the time I was in the second set, I basically gave up. I was so determined to show him that I could beat him (get revenge from the last time) that I didn't play using any strategy at all. I had no real game plan other than to "make sure I win this time". Obviously that didn't work. What I should have done was forget all about the last time we played and stuck to my original game plan (the first time we played). If I had done that, the match would have been totally different. Some of those "lucky shots" would have gone my way, he might have started to get intimidated by a few good shots of mine, etc. Basically the game could have gone either way.

I've also been a player who has been the nemesis of a different friend of mine. Even though we also were on the same level, I always felt confident that I would win because he often got frustrated playing me. Something about my playing style bothered him and when he started to get frustrated, I would just wait for him to change his game up and make mistakes. Then if he lost a long rally or an important point, I would play even more aggressively on the next point to lower his confidence even more. Once I could see that he no longer 'believed' that he could beat me, I just went on cruise control and played consistent percentage tennis, because at that point he had already given up.

Answer 7

It would appear that each tennis match is between you and an opponent. But most often it is between you, your nerves and the ball. The ball is in your court half the time. What you do with it is in your power. If your opponents physical abilities and experience are not too far above yours then each match you have an opportunity to be the victor, as long as you master yourself, your nerves and the ball!

Answer 8

The more I stress about it, the worse I play!

I'm lousy in tournament play, because I can't seem to calm myself down! I'm constantly shaking with adrenaline to the point where my opponents think I'm afraid of them, and my partners think I'm going into shock! Yeah, it's THAT bad!!!

However, put me on a court playing a social game, and I'm right where I should be for a 4.0+ NTRP player!

Here's a tip that helps with my play, social or tournament: Try to think of each point as "practice". That *may* help relax you (it works for me about 90% of the time in social play, but only about 25% of the time in tournament play; but, hey, anything is better than nothing, right?).

Answer 9

You have a mental problem...i mean psychologically..you are not comfortable against her.....just get completely involoved in Tennis.....don't even think about who is your opponent..start the day early....warm-up and start practising....and discuss with your coach about how she plays and how you play.....analyse both of yours' weaknesses and strengths.....focus on keeping her away from your weakness..and try attacking her weakness with your strengths..and make her strenghts ineffective in some way....but remember what ever you do ..you must be thinking only and only about how you are palying and how she is playing..don't think about past ..it's useless...don't think about the future ..i.e result of the match...you will enjoy when you'll win.....jus think about present......practise as if you are playing a match against her..and take full support from you coach....