Hello and welcome. Thanks for stopping by. Helping players learn to problem solve is what we are all about here on Personal Best Tennis. Do you have days when nothing seems to work, and you just feel like getting off court as fast as you can? Well, the best players seem to be able to turn things around more often than the rest of us, they are able to eek out a win inspite of themselves. How do they do that? And can we learn to do the same?
Hi, I'm Adrian, lifelong player and coach, and today we explore ways to play well when you are playing badly!
Now when do you decide you are having an 'Off Day'? Is it after just a few shots into the warm up, you feel you are not hitting the ball as well as you did when you last played? Experienced players give themselves the best chance of playing well by starting slowly. They realize that every time they go on
court the conditions will be different, even if it is the same court! Different weather, different time of day, different opponent, different energy level, different noise levels, on and on, you get the picture. So you have to ease in slowly. Start in a lower gear and get used to the conditions. Don't start off trying to hit your best shots, chances are you'll miss a few and that's when the doubt sets in! Give yourself the best chance to have an 'On Day'!
OK, so now you're getting into it. How do you react to errors? You're going to miss a few. Now if this was a practice session how would a keen player like you react? Would you tell yourself to try harder, to focus more, and keep trying the same shot until you got it right? That works great for the practice court but what about a match? The best players would stay quiet, and not let their reaction be a source of encouragement for their opponent! And they would not keep trying the same shot over and over! They would try some less risky shots to try to hide a temporary weakness until they have figured out what adjustment to make.
Do you make the situation worse by over reacting, getting emotional? Do you let it affect you for the next few points? There is never going to be a day when you don't make mistakes, miss easy balls, or miss serves. Accept the fact that you are going to make a certain number of errors, even on your 'in-the-zone 'on day'! Budget for a few double faults, a few close misses, a couple of mishits, or whatever. If you make less than that then it is a really good day! What do you think works better as a match strategy, reacting like a Federer or a Kyrgios after a critical error? Don't act like it's a bad day for you!Staying calm helps. Use the less important points to make some adjustments to the shots you are missing. Try something different. Use what is working, hide what is not!
What if unforced errors are not the problem, what if your opponent is pressurizing you so much you are forced into errors? Are you hitting too many short into the 'donut hole'? Are you hitting too fast for you to recover properly? Are you being too predictable? Players are often drilled to 'play your own game'. This is sometimes translated to mean just keep hitting your most comfortable shots until they start to work, and if they don't then that is how it is, just a bad playing day! The best players don't have that mindset, they have several ways to compete. Plan A doesn't seem to be working, let's try Plan B, or C!
Grand Slam Champion Martina Navratilova is quoted as revealing "The mark of a great player is not how good they are at their best, but how good they are at their worst!'
If you watch TV matches then maybe you have seen the way the best players use different strategies:
There's the ' I am going to get everything back, never make a mistake' plan.
The 'I am going to attack everything I can' plan.
The 'I'm not going to give them any pace to work with' plan.
The 'I'm going to come in to the net at every opportunity' plan.
The 'I'm going to run them ragged' plan.
The 'I'm going to break down their strength to shatter their confidence' plan.
What plans do you have ready to try when your favourite one is not working? Worth some practice time, don't you think?
And remember, how ever bad you seem to be playing, however hopeless the match appears, it is not unusual for players to come back from being match points down, to turn a seemingly lost cause into a win. The next time you think you are having a 'bad day', consider this. This could be the golden opportunity for you to sample the joy and thrill of a come back win! So never give up. Change a losing game. Do something different. Stay focused, keep competing, you may turn it around. There is nothing sweeter!
So to recap:
1.Begin slowly, work your way into the match and the conditions. Give yourself the best chance for a 'playing well' day.
2.Budget for errors to avoid getting down on yourself. No need to play beyond your best. Play percentage tennis, and don't overplay. Hide negative emotions. Have positive body language.
3.Hide your weaknesses. Use what works, practice what needs work on less important points.
4.Be prepared to change game plans. Have a Plan B, or Plan C. Stick with a winning plan, but always change a losing one.
5.Stay competitive. Never give up. The ball has no memory. Come back wins are so much sweeter!
Thanks for watching. Look out for some pointers on warming into a match, and learning to read your opponent by checking on our website. Till next time Happy Hitting.