Tense up before hitting the ball in a match

by Sean
(TX)

Im probably a 3.5-4.0 player. Your article about how to play in a match and practice scenario is great. Lots of useful stuff there.

My problem is not thinking too far ahead of the outcome of the point or the match but i have noticed that in a match i seem to tense up and not get into proper position to hit the ball back and its quite frustrating as in practice i hit the same balls back perfectly. I also realize that i'm tensing up, yet have a real challenging time correcting it. and the more i try the more unnatural the body movement seems to be. Kinda like overdoing it.

A couple of things that helped me from your articles is BREATHE very imp to relax and slow down the upper body movement which so often is reactionary and too fast to control the stroke when on the run.

I have also noticed that when i'm down in a match, to a point where i think recovery is a major uphill task, i start to play better. I go for my shots more with a sort of carefree attitude and automatically the power and spin increases and the ball seems to target the lines much more. Once i do this, then it sort of all clicks, its like a zone, as if all i see is the ball and im not even looking at my opponent or where i want to hit the ball, just getting in position, getting the body as still as possible and striking.

I guess in a match initially i'm too worried about not hitting in the net and keeping the ball in play, but in the process i'm hitting weak balls and my opponent is able to take full advantage.