The fast, unpredictable, net-rushing tennis-player is a person of impulse. There is no real system to his/her attack, no comprehension of your game. He will make brilliant coups on the spur of the moment, largely by instinct; but there is no, mental power of consistent thinking. It is an fascinating type of character.
The really unnerving player is the one who mixes his/her style from back to fore court under the command of an ever-active mind. This/her is the player to study. He is a player with a definite intention. A player who has an answer to every problem you present him in your game. He is the most subtle antagonist in the world of tennis. He is of the school of Brookes. Second only to him is the player of slavish determination that fixes his/her mind on one strategy and adheres to it, bitterly, fiercely fighting to the bitter end, with never a thought of changing his gameplan.
This is the player whose psychology is rather easy to work out, but whose mental viewpoint is difficult to derail, because he never allows himself to think of anything but his game. This/her player is your Johnston or your Wilding. I respect the intelligence of Brookes more, but I admire the determination of Johnston.
Pick out your kind from your own mental pattern, and then plan your game along the lines best suited to you. When two men are on the same level concerning stroke, strength and equipment, the deciding factor in any match is the mental viewpoint. Luck, as it is called, is often no more than grasping the psychological value of a break in the game, and turning it to your own account. People talk a great deal about the "shots we have made." But few people understand the importance of the "shots we have missed."
The psychology of missing shots is just as vital as that of making them, and at times a miss by an inch is of more value than a return that is killed by your opponent. Let me explain. A player drives you far out of court with an angle-shot. You run hard to it, and having reached it, you smash it hard and fast down the side-line, missing it by an inch. Your opponent is surprised and shaken, knowing that your shot could just as well have gone in as out. He will expect you to try it again and he will not risk it next time. He will attempt to play the ball, and may make an error. You have thus taken some of your opponent's confidence, and increased his/her chance of error, just because of a miss.
However, if you had just tapped back that ball, and it had been killed, your opponent would have felt increasingly confident of your inability to get the ball out of his/her reach, while you would only have been out of breath for no reason.
Let's suppose that you had succeeded with that shot down the sideline. It was an apparently impossible achievement. First it amounts to TWO points, in that it stole one away from your opponent that should have been his/her and gave you one that you should never have had. Second it also upsets your opponent, as he thinks that he has thrown away a big opportunity.
The psychology involved in a game of tennis is very interesting, but readily understandable. Both player begin with equal opportunities. However, once one player has gained a real lead, his/her confidence goes up, while his/her opponent worries, and his/her mental viewpoint becomes poor. The sole objective of the first player is to hold his/her lead, thereby holding his/her confidence.
If the second player pulls even or pulls ahead, the inevitable result is an even more drastic contrast in psychology of the players. First, there is the natural confidence of the leader of the game, but it is boosted by the great stimulus of having turned a seemingly sure-fire defeat into a likely victory. The case of the other player is the reverse. He is apt to lose confidence and play worse. The collapse of his game plan will be the result.
The really unnerving player is the one who mixes his/her style from back to fore court under the command of an ever-active mind. This/her is the player to study. He is a player with a definite intention. A player who has an answer to every problem you present him in your game. He is the most subtle antagonist in the world of tennis. He is of the school of Brookes. Second only to him is the player of slavish determination that fixes his/her mind on one strategy and adheres to it, bitterly, fiercely fighting to the bitter end, with never a thought of changing his gameplan.
This is the player whose psychology is rather easy to work out, but whose mental viewpoint is difficult to derail, because he never allows himself to think of anything but his game. This/her player is your Johnston or your Wilding. I respect the intelligence of Brookes more, but I admire the determination of Johnston.
Pick out your kind from your own mental pattern, and then plan your game along the lines best suited to you. When two men are on the same level concerning stroke, strength and equipment, the deciding factor in any match is the mental viewpoint. Luck, as it is called, is often no more than grasping the psychological value of a break in the game, and turning it to your own account. People talk a great deal about the "shots we have made." But few people understand the importance of the "shots we have missed."
The psychology of missing shots is just as vital as that of making them, and at times a miss by an inch is of more value than a return that is killed by your opponent. Let me explain. A player drives you far out of court with an angle-shot. You run hard to it, and having reached it, you smash it hard and fast down the side-line, missing it by an inch. Your opponent is surprised and shaken, knowing that your shot could just as well have gone in as out. He will expect you to try it again and he will not risk it next time. He will attempt to play the ball, and may make an error. You have thus taken some of your opponent's confidence, and increased his/her chance of error, just because of a miss.
However, if you had just tapped back that ball, and it had been killed, your opponent would have felt increasingly confident of your inability to get the ball out of his/her reach, while you would only have been out of breath for no reason.
Let's suppose that you had succeeded with that shot down the sideline. It was an apparently impossible achievement. First it amounts to TWO points, in that it stole one away from your opponent that should have been his/her and gave you one that you should never have had. Second it also upsets your opponent, as he thinks that he has thrown away a big opportunity.
The psychology involved in a game of tennis is very interesting, but readily understandable. Both player begin with equal opportunities. However, once one player has gained a real lead, his/her confidence goes up, while his/her opponent worries, and his/her mental viewpoint becomes poor. The sole objective of the first player is to hold his/her lead, thereby holding his/her confidence.
If the second player pulls even or pulls ahead, the inevitable result is an even more drastic contrast in psychology of the players. First, there is the natural confidence of the leader of the game, but it is boosted by the great stimulus of having turned a seemingly sure-fire defeat into a likely victory. The case of the other player is the reverse. He is apt to lose confidence and play worse. The collapse of his game plan will be the result.
About the Author:
If you are a novice tennis player or want to know more about the general psychology of tennis, please visit our site entitled Tennis Tips for Beginners. Also published at Tennis Psychology (Part 2).
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