A cloudy and frustrated mind

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A cloudy and frustrated mind

by Luke Burton
(Castaways Beach, Queensland, Australia)

I recently played a big tournament which i have never been so frustrated in. i was waiting for the draw to come out, and when it did i was so excited.

in the first round i was playing a kid who i had beaten twice before with a scoreline of 6-0, 6-0 and the other time 6-0, 6-1. this time though there was quite a number of points up for grabs and i was already thinking about my second round before i had even played my first. my second round was also someone i had played before and finished him off quite easily.

so i woke up the next morning with not much sleep because i was to excited and nervous the whole night, so i couldn't fall asleep. i walked out onto the court, hitting freely in the warm up and the first 3 games. i was up 3-0 and serving for a 4-0 and that's when the nerves kicked in and i was too tight to hit the ball over the net which lead to unforced errors and he went on to have a 4-3 lead. at this moment in the match, my brain wouldn't stop thinking negative thoughts and i was telling my self that if i lost this match i may as well quit.

i managed to hold my serve for 4-4, but it was not an easy game, i was down 15-40 and had to just keep in the rally. I did not deserve to win that set but i ended up winning it 6-4. but it wasn't until 1-1 all in the second set when i regained my confidence and won that set 6-1. it was such a relief when i got off that court because the thoughts all became positive such as; i did well to get out of that mess and i have another round to look forward to know.

i went out on court for my second match thinking this should be an easy one, but i found myself back in the same situation as my first round, and to make things worse it was a pro set, because of rain delays. so the balls were heavy and the court was damp.

i served first and i was up 40-15 and pushed a sitter volley just wide and then he breaks my serve. throughout the whole match i failed to hit the ball with any depth or pace and was desperately looking for ways to win points. my opponent was playing very good tennis considering the conditions, which was not helping my situation.

he was up the whole match and then i lost my serve again due to 3 double faults which gave him a 6-3 lead. at this stage of the match i was S**TING myself and i took a bit of extra time at the change over to calm myself down and find a way to overcome my nerves and play with a bit more confidence. it didn't help so i decided that if this guy is going to win this match, he is going to have to hit winners because i am not going to miss another ball.

i got myself back to 6-6 and then i took the lead 7-6 and and i had 2 match points being 40-15 up on his service game. i blew both opportunities by trying to get off the court too quickly, but then i got another chance, and sadly for him he double faulted, i on the other hand was relieved but angry with myself that i let myself get into the same situation as my first round.

it just goes to show how much your mind plays part in tennis and if your mind is not in the right place, anyone can beat you.

so i am looking for some great advice on how to put yourself in the right mental space before you go out and play someone that you know you can beet convincingly and you can play confidently and go out and beet your opponent and the match isn't a complete dog fight full of errors, frustration and nerves.

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A cloudy and frustrated mind

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Jul 10, 2010
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Tennis is difficult
by: Tomaz

Hey Luke,

Thanks for sharing your story.

You said at the end "... how to put yourself in the right mental space before you go out and play someone that you know you can beet convincingly and you can play confidently."

This is where the problem originates. You need to understand that NO ONE is easy to beat - and that's because you don't actually play against him most of the time - but you're trying to play tennis.

Here's what I mean by that: when an easy ball comes over the net, your goal is to hit that small moving ROUND target with a moving racquet (while you may be moving) into a relatively small target (since you aim closer to lines and not in the middle of court).

Now that's VERY DIFFICULT! Tennis is very difficult even without an opponent. Just hitting limited area of the court (which would mean that you hit good shots) is very difficult.

Sure, pushing the ball in the middle of the court is not that difficult but you'll rarely win any matches by playing like that.

So you need to play closer to lines and that's a challenge.

So keep that in mind and don't even think about the quality of your opponent - it's doesn't matter that much. All of them will play the ball over the net and now it's only you against tennis rules!

Your opponent has nothing to do with your shots. He is not trying to block you or distract you like in other sports like soccer, football or basketball.

He just waits on the other side and is looking to see whether you can manage to overcome the challenge of hitting the ball well and within tennis rules.

I hope you now realize that you must never underestimate neither tennis nor your opponent and always approach every match with 100% focus and being ready to give 100% effort.

Jul 23, 2010
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Present-monded
by: Anonymous

Hi, Luke,

You sound like you're playing at a higher level than I ever have - or am likely to - but I think that the same principles apply to all levels & all types of game. Tomaz reply is (as you'd expect) spot-on, but I think he misses, or might emphasise more, one thing.

If you go on court expecting to win, remembering past victories over the other player & predicting the next round, you've lost focus, your eyes are as cloudy as your mind (eyses & mind being in partnership!). Past victories are just that, in the past. The next round, the next match or game (in the course of a set) is only a whisper of what might be. Either way you're no longer in the one place where tennis can be played: in the present!

The mind plays tricks like this all the time. The only solution is to get a fix on here & now. Watch the pattern of spin on the ball as you warm up, study your opponent (he might have improved his game, or learnt something new since you last played) & go through your personal checklist (e.g. keep your feet moving, hit-ready, hit ready...) & drop the rest of your thoughs into a pocket of your racket bag zipped tight until after the you've won.

The night before problem is similar: do some skipping, or other suitable (tennis-related) exercise then read a book until you feel enough like dropping to fall asleep easily. Otherwise, try making very precise inner pictures (imaginings) of playing your best strokes, until ZZZZZZZZZ!

In other words, for the me the key thing is: if your thinking "what next" before you've reached it, you're not there, where it counts, & risk missing the boat.

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A cloudy and frustrated mind

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A cloudy and frustrated mind