Not playing well today?
So what.
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We've all been there, right? Well, if that is true, then it is inevitable to have a bad day. Just like in life you can have a bad day in tennis. But it doesn't have to stay like that. I personally have had some of my greatest satisfactions when my tennis started bad.
But what usually happens when you have a bad day? You are very disappointed, you keep blaming the bad day for your mistakes (which is partly true), you become very emotional and we all know how we play in emotional states.
Not very good. Bad decisions, rushing things, taking the mind (and eye) off the ball and choking in the crucial moments of the match.
Why does this happen? There are a couple of limiting beliefs that we hold on to:
- If I have a bad day, I cannot win against a good player. So what's the point of trying?
- The second one is: this is too difficult. If I had my normal feel, I would have hit these shots in.
They both make the player focus on the problems. And when a player starts thinking about these problems, his emotional state becomes even more negative. His level of play consequently drops and so he gets his proof - he was right. He makes self fulfilling prophecies. He gets to be right, but loses the match.
But no one cares whether you're right or not. The only thing that counts are the results. So how can we get them?
It takes a different – winning – attitude. First, you need to realize and see the reality as it is. In reality – you are having a bad day. So what will happen? When you aim for the lines, your shots will probably go out. When you attack with your risky slice approach it will sail long. When you try your super drop shot it won't make it over the net.
That's the reality of a bad day, right?
Instead of dreaming how nice it would be to have the feel back again and be really feeling good this day, you need to fight with what you HAVE. You need to accept the reality as it is and do your best to deal with situation in a different way.
That means that you can't win the match with winners, surprise drop shots, super short cross court shots, and second serve aces. You need to accept the challenge that on this day it will be harder for you to play than on your good day.
Stop looking for shortcuts and easy ways to win the match. There aren't any, especially on a day like that.
You need to play solid, percentage tennis. You need to play further from the lines and have high percentage of first serves.
Maybe change your approach. If your aggressive attacking style of play is not working today, then you must find your consistency despite your bad day.
Ask your opponent with your play and attitude: «All right. It looks that I can't beat you today with winners and smart play. But can you beat me? I will play intelligent, fighting tennis with a positive attitude. Can you beat me?«
And then take a quick look at your problems and start looking for solutions.
If you have no feel, start looking for it. Stay in the point; focus on how you feel the ball. Become aware of your feel and when it feels a little better.
If you have problems with your serve, CHANGE IT! Stop hitting 150 mph serves if only 4 percent go in. Stop going for the corners on the second serve if you keep missing for a couple of inches. Serve a slower, more consistent first serve and serve a second serve more to the middle.
Will your opponent punish that? If so, then you would have lost anyway since you were already beating yourself without his actual play. You assumed that he will finish the point and so you missed. So this 100% leads to defeat.
Why don't you test your ideas in reality? Make him play those shots and see what happens. This way you don't kill yourself and you put up a courageous fight.
Another good tip when you have a bad day is to focus only on tennis and not on your opponent. It's very hard to play against your opponent AND tennis difficulties that you may have on that day.
You first need to solve your tennis problems and then focus on your opponent's play. How can you outsmart and outplay him if your tennis is not working 100%?
See the problem, start looking for solutions. Focus on improving your tennis first and then start playing against your opponent.
This is of course a very long explanation of how to deal with a situation like that. It is very useful for understanding the principles and the approach to this type of situation, but it's not useful as a quick practical tip in the heat of the match.
The Mental Manual for Tennis Winners includes this situation and shows you how to deal with it in 6 short sentences. You'll immediately remember what to do and start winning matches even on your off days. How will that affect your confidence and ranking?
