Tipping the scales in tennis
The reason for quick changes in momentum

The way a tennis score and match sometimes change is very difficult to understand. How can two seemingly equal players exchange sets 6:1, 1:6. Shouldn't the score be something like 6:4, 5:7 or something like that?

And how come you play a match and everything goes fine, you're leading and then suddenly things start to go wrong. Your opponent catches you and leaves you behind wondering how things could change
so fast. This usually happens after you've won the first set, right?

The reason for this is something that I call the scale effect. Imagine the scale where you put 1 kilogram on each side. The scale is balanced. Now, what happens if you put on one side just 5 grams? Does the scale on that side go slightly down? No, it goes all the way down.

Just a little weight added, which is very minute compared to the total mass, and yet the effect is total change in balance. This effect happens in tennis too. When someone is just a little bit better, he can win the match with the easy looking score of 6:1. That doesn’t mean that the points were all easy but that the slightly better player won most of them eventually.

Maybe they exchanged 8 or 12 strokes in a point and the better player hits 12 in and the lesser 11 in. So he is maybe just a little bit weaker, but the score has no numbers or rules between lost and won points. You either win the point or you lose it. So even though you are 10% worse than your opponent, the score in that particular point is 100% for your opponent and 0% for you.

So what can you learn from this?

When you're ahead – you may feel too comfortable and drop your level of intensity for »5 grams«. This immediately tips the scale on the other side and now you can't win a game anymore. So keep your intensity high even when the score seems comfortable. You can't really tell how much more »weight« is on your side so that the scale is tipped in your favor.

When you are leveled with your opponent – that means that no one has any extra grams on his side. So even when you do your best and the scale doesn’t tip in your favor, keep fighting and keep this high level of play. Because as soon as your opponent drops his level, the scale can tip totally in your favor. And of course if you drop your level of intensity and concentration for just »5 grams«, it can tip in your opponent's favor.

When you're behind – it doesn't necessarily mean that your opponent is light years ahead of you. Maybe the scale has tipped against you and there are only »5 grams« on his side. Keep a high level of play and make your opponent lose those 5 grams of extra weight. Or maybe even 10 grams and knowing how much that affects the tennis game, you'll be able to catch up quickly.

Now that you are aware of the scale effect you'll be much more attentive to the slight changes in scale and where it tends to tip. If the scale goes against you, raise your level of play. Stop the momentum before it gets too far.

And when you make the scale tip in your favor, look to keep the weight on your side. Keep the pressure on your opponent and don't allow him to put any extra weight on his side. You'll find your matches much shorter and effective and your opponents will be glad that you showed them a way to new tennis heights.

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