There are two very general, main types of tennis players out there. One group is happy to play for the sheer enjoyment of it. Whether it be the exercise, socializing with friends, or just having something to do to get them out of the house. Group number two plays for the challenge of it. This isn’t to say that they don’t enjoy their time put in as well, however there’s more focus involved, a more serious tone is part of their practice and play.
This article is written to group number two.
Ever get angry after missing a shot in tennis? Call yourself names out loud? Have the sudden urge to break the only thing at your disposal (racket)? I can confidently say I’ve done all those things, many times all after the same swing, heh. Why must we take ourselves that seriously, that not hitting a successful shot during an enjoyable, athletic past time should result in such negative emotions?
It’s my goal here at Essential Tennis to not only help you improve your tennis, but learn how to enjoy the process of learning more as well. I’ve personally struggled with lots of negativity in the past, and I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be that way. Below are four reasons why it’s perfectly OK to miss. Chances are that if you deal with anger on the court, one or two of these will resonate strongly with you. If that is the case, I urge you write the phrases down that do, and keep them in mind the next time you play.
It’s OK to Lose
Did you hear me? Losing is a natural part of competition, it’s a bi-product of putting yourself and your game on the line against an opponent. This risk is necessary, without it winning would be meaningless wouldn’t it? Please take a minute to let that sink in and fully accept it. If you compete, eventually you will lose, it’s just a part of the process. It doesn’t make you a bad player, it doesn’t make you a bad person, it makes you a competitor, period.
That means that within every point, every single time you take a swing at the ball there is always a chance that you will win, and a chance that you will lose (miss). Accept this as a fact of tennis, and don’t allow it to bother you and throw you off emotionally when it happens. I guarantee you it WILL happen, so there’s absolutely no sense in getting bent out of shape about it and allowing it to negatively effect your game play. Instead, after a miss quickly critique in your head what the mistake in technique or strategy was, and do your best to improve upon that next time that specific shot occurs.
Accept it: Tennis is Difficult
This has taken a long time for me to accept personally, and I’ve seen several other players reject this fact as well resulting in anger on the court. Tennis is really hard to be truly good at, if you don’t agree with me get ready for frustration, either that or you need to start playing against higher level opponents. When you’re working on improving an specific stroke or strategy don’t be frustrated when attempts to implement it into point play initially fail. Mastering complicated physical movements like tennis and most other sports takes huge amounts of time and concentration, cut yourself some slack and allow yourself to screw it up at first. Of course if you’re continuing to screw it up the same way over and over then take note and figure out why so that you can fix it either then or later. If you don’t know the answer to the question “why?”, then seek out the council of somebody who does, very preferably somebody who answers such questions for a living so the answer will accurate and relevant to your problem.
I find that often times this syndrome is further enhanced by the watching of professional matches on TV. They often times make the game look so easy, in fact more than a few times I’ve heard comments from people who’ve never played before about how easy tennis must be after seeing it on TV. “You just hit it over the net!”
It’s a Tool for Improvement
That’s right, making errors helps you improve your tennis game, that is if you’re paying attention and keeping a good attitude about it. This is one of many life lessons that can be learned on a tennis court: every mistake made gives the opportunity for improvement. Every time you strike a tennis ball and miss the court, or even just miss your target by a little bit, there’s a technical reason why it happened.
I would highly discourage you from taking that statement and analyzing every single shot you hit on the court, however pay attention to patterns of misses. If you miss a short forehand long three times in a row, or four times out of six, there’s a problem there that must be addressed. If you’re smart, you’ll keep a little journal in your racket bag where you can write such things down so that next time you’re on a practice court or taking a lesson the issue can be worked on. In this fashion your game can be continually improved as long as you invest the necessary focus and effort.
So there you have it. Making errors can either throw you into a poor mood hampering your performance and improvement, or be an aid in the development of your game. With the right attitude mistakes can lead to bigger and better things both in tennis and in life.
