"The state of overalertness"
Why it happens and how to avoid it

You’ve probably experienced the feeling of not being in control in the match. It’s that feeling which we often call “being lost”. You don’t know really what to do, you don’t know what exactly is happening and your game breaks apart. You just hit balls without the needed intention and concentration to play really good tennis.

What is this state, why does it happen and how to prevent it?

The first thing that we need to realize is how our mind works. It is quite simple: our mind takes the information from the past – memory and based on that memory it predicts the future.

Why does the mind do that?

It’s a survival mechanism based on millions of years of evolution. Imagine a lizard walking a certain path. He is attacked by a snake by manages to escape her. This painful memory is stored and the lizard will now avoid this path. He now predicts what will happen on that path – danger.

Then the lizard walks another path and finds lots of food. He eats well and is not attacked. The lizard now predicts that the food will be there next time. He is now calm.

And every time the lizard walks a path that he doesn’t know, he will be in a state of alertness. Not knowing what will happen means that it could also mean danger and that he will have to react quickly in order to survive.

This similar mechanism operates in our mind too. Whenever we don’t know what will happen next – or cannot predict with high probability – he are in a state of alertness even though such high level of alertness is not really needed in a tennis match.

But what happens in such a high level of alertness is that the survival mechanism releases of lot of adrenalin in our blood and it blocks the most complex brain operations – you are left with simple processing if we can call it that way.

In order to fight or flight – which are the basic survival mechanisms – you don’t need complex thinking – you need to be fast and decide quickly. Complex thinking takes too much time and by the time you figure out what is going on you may be dead. So it’s better to run and start thinking later. At least that’s what our mind thinks.

So when you play a tennis match and you can’t really predict what will happen next – like playing a new opponent or not being able to predict his next play – you may enter this high level of alertness. You will be in a state of anxiety and you just won’t be able to think clearly, decide intelligently and control your emotions.

And surely you know by now what this means for your tennis.

So how does one avoid this? Can we do anything about it?

Yes, but there is no shortcut or a magic trick that will solve this problem once and for all.

First, we need to be very clear on what elements of a tennis match we can control and which we cannot. More on that topic in the article of control.

When we understand clearly that we cannot control the wind for example, we just don’t think about it anymore. We are not under constant stress about outer conditions.

Second, we need to try and find the zone state – which means to be “here and now” – not allowing ourselves to think about the past or to think about the future and try to predict it.

For that we need higher level of awareness since we need to monitor our thinking. Whenever we become aware that we are thinking and worrying about the future we need to get back in the “now”.

The simplest and most effective way of getting back in the “now” is to focus on the ball. Not just watching the ball but seeing it clearly. You need to ask yourself many times during the match:”Do I see the ball clearly?”

You will realize that you don’t see it clearly. When you really work on that and focus on the ball you will get back in the “now”. You’ll be able to think clearly and react quickly when needed.

You can also focus on your breathing between the points and at the changeovers. Following your breath takes your focus from worrying to present time. That’s how you will get out of that stresses state.

You don’t need to meditate or breathe in some very complex specific pattern. Just breathe normally but follow the path of air through your nose, throat and lungs – in and out.

So what can you do to influence your opponent?

You can intentionally play such a game that your opponent will get stresses out and not be able to think and react clearly.

How?

By being unpredictable. For that you need good tennis skills and you need to be aware of what is going right now in the match, what you intend to play later and how you are going to do it.

The easiest way to do it is on your serve. Here you have the time (at least a few seconds) to quickly remember where you serve most of the times in a particular situation and how you will serve this time.

If most of your serves in crucial moments were directed to the backhand of your opponents, you can occasionally serve to their body and at the forehand.

If you find the right mixture of serves and become unpredictable for your opponents, they will become more and more stressed out just before you serve. And that will result in many more errors on the return.

Having a winning tennis mind means monitoring your thinking, getting back to “here and now” and using the elements of unpredictability to unsettle your opponents. In the long run – you don’t hurt anyone – they will only realize what they are allowing their mind to do and they will learn how to stop that.

You become their teacher.

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