This is an article ‘Mastering tennis with practice and pressure’ by Marc Pulisci
"Pressure is a privilege." This tenet drove women's tennis legend Billie Jean King to 39 major titles in her stellar career, including 12 singles, 16 women's doubles, and 11 mixed doubles. As a coach to young aspiring tennis professionals, the champion usually provides two ideas to live by as a tennis player. One was about being present in the game, and the other was about handling the intense pressure that comes with it. Billie Jean King believed in playing one ball at a time during her professional career and many can learn a thing or two about how to win matches with that singular tennis principle.
Mastering the sport of tennis goes beyond rigorous practice and physical workouts. It comes with a mental game that most of today's champions have developed into a strength, if not a weapon, against their opponents. With frequent high stakes and intense situations on the court, committing multiple faults can quickly ruin your game. Blunders can directly affect a player's mental focus on his opponent. If he doesn't know how to temper the storm within himself, he'll likely lose most of the games to opponents with comparable or better abilities.
Create pressure during pressure
Most coaches ensure they can create pressure drills in the player's practice environment, and these tactics help add the extra mental workout required during actual match situations. Developing mental toughness produces real tennis players who understand control and can regain their composure at any given moment instead of existing as mere hitters.
Perform baseline to baseline to volley consistency drills and situational drills that surpass the first two to three shots to ensure you get to choose the right moment for a point rather than finishing each one early. Other match scenarios can also help develop your mental toughness, such as bending the rules during practice by deducting points when a player double faults or hits an unforced error. This drill will train him to handle the pressure and adjust his mental and physical performance to get the upper hand in the practice match.
Turn the pressure into opportunity
Players who learned under Billie Jean King can attest to how the legend could take pressure by the throat and turn it into an opportunity. Her trick seems quite simple but takes discipline to master. Realizing that there's a high chance that every opponent is experiencing a certain level of stress and pressure helps King convince herself to stop thinking about her own stress and pressure. Based on that idea, players can develop the motivation to shift the focus from their own mental feelings and insecurities and channel their minds on the opponent's weaknesses. To master this mental practice, players must focus on the other player's weaknesses and play with more intention with the presence of opposite pressure in mind.
However, no matter how mentally strong a player is, some match situations can really get on one's nerves and affect overall performance. Imagine yourself becoming trapped by pressure when your opponent is on serve and at set point. In such instances, you'll likely experience a range of performance disruptions such as tunnel vision, a delay in reaction, sluggish footwork, and short-range shooting. Focusing on these disruptions can impair your performance for the rest of the game and provide your opponent more breathing room to exploit your stress.
Reducing the impact of mental pressure
Mental toughness calls for how you must detect the times during the match when you are not in control. If you find yourself deeper under extreme pressure multiple times, make sure you take 'playing one ball at a time' to heart and somehow get a chance to regain proper perspective and control. Another thing you should detect is when your opponent feels exhaustion or when his stress level is getting higher. Such instances will give you the best chance to turn the tables and step up the pressure on your opponent.
Some rules have proven effective in shaking off the pressure strains you can feel during crucial situations, including moving your feet more actively. Increased lower body movement, particularly how you mind your footwork, can level down your stress and pressure. Not everyone might notice a significant change by doing more foot movement, but experts agree that it helps regain calm and composure among players as action counteracts anxiety-related sluggishness.
Nerve rush a match
Another trick you can try to relieve yourself of pressure is taking some time in between points. There will be many instances during a match when you feel your performance is crumbling. Most players look to finish matches in straight sets as much as possible, and not being able to do so can be mentally frustrating.
Again, Billie Jean King's advice to play one ball at a time reminds us that a lack of patience can lead to carelessness. Avoid rushing your service games. Instead, allow yourself to breathe and rest by taking additional time between points to refocus. Go for the towel when you feel you're not at your most competitive but be wary of incurring penalties for delaying the game. Getting as much additional time as possible when you're in a slump can derail your opponent from his winning streak and level the playing field when you both return. Always make sure you are ready for the next point when you do.
Be consistently aggressive
In every match, the more persistent and forceful player usually wins the mental game. Every player's objective is to exert pressure on his opponents so that he can throw them off their comfort zone. However, being consistently aggressive doesn't mean you give way to careless shots and footwork. It takes good mastery of how you can maintain your composure, even on crucial points of the match.
Try to refrain from taking unwarranted risks and keep the ball deep. Attacking balls that land short and traversing the court at least 80% of the time will pressure your opponent and keep him guessing. Avoid striking winners or end the point when you perform an attack, as this might break your consistency. Be patient and wait for the right time when you'll have a sure winner.
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