General Tennis Psychology
Tennis psychology is nothing more than understanding the workings of your opponent’s mind, and gauging the effect of your own game on his mental viewpoint, and understanding the mental effects resulting from the various external causes on your own mind. You cannot be a successful psychologist of others without first understanding your own mental processes, you must study the effect on yourself of the same happening under different circumstances. You react differently in different moods and under different conditions. You must realize the effect on your game of the resulting irritation, pleasure, confusion, or whatever form your reaction takes. Does it increase your efficiency? If so, strive for it, but never give it to your opponent.
Does it deprive you of concentration? If so, either remove the cause, or if that is not possible strive to ignore it.
Once you have judged accurately your own reaction to conditions, study your opponents, to decide their temperaments. Like temperaments react similarly, and you may judge men of your own type by yourself. Opposite temperaments you must seek to compare with people whose reactions you know.
A person who can control his own mental processes stands an excellent chance of reading those of another, for the human mind works along definite lines of thought, and can be studied. One can only control one’s, mental processes after carefully studying them.
A steady phlegmatic baseline player is seldom a keen thinker. If he was he would not adhere to the baseline.
The physical appearance of a man is usually a pretty clear index to his type of mind. The stolid, easy-going man, who usually advocates the baseline game, does so because he hates to stir up his torpid mind to think out a safe method of reaching the net. There is the other type of baseline player, who prefers to remain on the back of the court while directing an attack intended to break up your game. He is a very dangerous player, and a deep, keen thinking antagonist. He achieves his results by mixing up his length and direction, and worrying you with the variety of his game. He is a good psychologist. The first type of player mentioned merely hits the ball with little idea of what he is doing, while the latter always has a definite plan and adheres to it. The hard-hitting, erratic, net-rushing player is a creature of impulse. There is no real system to his attack, no understanding 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 interesting, fascinating type.
The dangerous man is the player who mixes his style from back to fore court at the direction of an ever-alert mind. This is the man to study and learn from. He is a player with a definite purpose. A player who has an answer to every query you propound him in your game. He is the most subtle antagonist in the world. He is of the school of Brookes. Second only to him is the man of dogged determination that sets his mind on one plan and adheres to it, bitterly, fiercely fighting to the end, with never a thought of change. He is the man whose psychology is easy to understand, but whose mental viewpoint is hard to upset, for he never allows himself to think of anything except the business at hand. This man is your Johnston or your Wilding. I respect the mental capacity of Brookes more, but I admire the tenacity of purpose of Johnston.
Pick out your type from your own mental processes, and then work out your game along the lines best suited to you.
When two men are, in the same class, as regards stroke equipment, the determining factor in any given match is the mental viewpoint. Luck, so-called, is often grasping the psychological value of a break in the game, and turning it to your own account.
We hear a great deal about the “shots we have made.” Few realize the importance of the “shots we have missed.” The science of missing shots is as important 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 reaching, drive it hard and fast down the side-line, missing it by an inch. Your opponent is surprised and shaken, realizing that your shot might as well have gone in as out. He will expect you to try it again, and will not take the risk next time. He will try to play the ball, and may fall into error. You have thus taken some of your opponent’s confidence, and increased his chance of error, all by a miss.
If you had merely popped back that return, and it had been killed, your opponent would have felt increasingly confident of your inability to get the ball out of his reach, while you would merely have been winded without result.
Let us suppose you made the shot down the sideline. It was a seemingly impossible get. First it amounts to TWO points in that it took one away from your opponent that should have been his and gave you one you ought never to have had. It also worries your opponent, as he feels he has thrown away a big chance.
The psychology of a tennis match is very interesting, but easily understandable. Both men start with equal chances. Once one man establishes a real lead, his confidence goes up, while his opponent worries, and his mental viewpoint becomes poor. The sole object of the first man is to hold his lead, thus holding his confidence. If the second player pulls even or draws ahead, the inevitable reaction occurs with even a greater contrast in psychology. There is the natural confidence of the leader now with the second man as well as that great stimulus of having turned seeming defeat into probable victory. The reverse in the case of the first player is apt to hopelessly destroy his game, and collapse follows.
About the Author
Copyright 2006 - Ivar Rudi. Ivar suggests you find great market for less by shopping online today. For more information and resources about this subject check out: http://www.tennis-racket.info/
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U.S. Open Tennis: History And Progress
Ticket sales were always high?in fact, higher than ever before. U.S. open tennis set a record in 2006 because of best attendance as well, and is expected to rise to virtually sixty-four thousand next.
When instant replay was applied to the U.S. open tennis (also in 2006), U.S. open tennis was declared, therefore, that 2006 would prove to be a historic evolutionary time for U.S. open tennis. There was seventeen million dollars for the winners of U.S. open tennis tournaments. Choosing over six hundred individual professional tennis players, both male and female, would win approximately one million per winner provided as prize money.
The U.S. open tennis game developed from an entertainment event for the elite, originating from two different competitions:
- Men?s tournament:
- The ?National Singles Championship For Men? was the actual introduction of open tennis to the. Of course, as the title indicates, U.S. open tennis introduction was a men?s competition?and astonishingly, it occurred in August 1881.
- The old event was staged at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island. This spectacle (much unlike today) was strictly a men?s event?singles played only.
- These tournaments were restricted to certain private clubs?only the elite members of the ?United States National Lawn Tennis Association? were permitted to enter the facility and observe the U.S. open tennis games that occurred so long ago.
- The ?U.S. National Men’s Doubles Championship? was held for the first time in 1990. Tournaments narrowed down to the top players in both the east and the west of the nations. The method was to determine the ?sectional winners? of U.S. open tennis.
- Following this would be a final play-off between the two winners. Each winner played defending champions in the challenge round.
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Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, recreation, education and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles about tennis and tennis accessories, please visit U.S. Open Tennis. |
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The Basics of Tennis — A Guide for the Clueless!
To properly learn how to play tennis, it is best to go out to the tennis courts with an instructor or a friend that already knows how to play and who can give you some pointers. Of course, if you want to get a good idea as to how to play tennis before you hit the courts, here are some pointers:
? The main pieces of equipment needed when learning how to play tennis are tennis racquets, tennis balls, and a tennis court.
? A regulation tennis court as a few different lines on it ? the tennis net goes across the very middle of the court. The closest parallel lines to the net (on either side of the net) are called the service lines. The parallel line furthest from the net is called the baseline. The two long strips on both sides of the court, perpendicular to the net are called the alleys.
? In singles tennis, the alleys are considered ?out? ? if the ball bounces in them, it does not count. In doubles tennis (tennis with two teams of two, one team on each side of the net), the alleys are ?in.?
? A game starts with a serve. The serving player starts behind the baseline on the right-hand side of the court (his right-hand side) and hits the ball into the service box on the other side.
? The service box is the box on the opposite side of the court ? both over the net, and on the server?s left-hand side (the returner?s right-hand side). The service box is between the alley and the middle of the court, between the service line and the net. The ball must bounce once in this box for it to be considered a good serve.
? If the server misses the box, he gets one more chance to get it in. A server always gets two tries. If he misses, it is the opponent?s point.
? If the serve goes in, the person returning must hit the serve either before it bounces (if he knows that the ball would be in) or after it bounces once ? if it bounces more than once, then it is the server?s point. The person returning must hit the ball over the net, and it can bounce anywhere on the opponent?s side of the court (remember that the alleys are out, though).
? The two players hit the ball back and forth until one person misses ? either by missing the ball when it bounces on his side, or by hitting the ball out of bounds onto the opponent?s side. The person who did not miss gets a point.
? The server switches sides for every serve ? the second serve will be served on his left-hand side of the court and into the opposite side service box (on the opponent?s left-hand side).
? This article on how to play tennis will not get into scoring (love, fifteen, thirty, forty, deuce, etc.) except to say that a player wins a game after scoring at least four points and wins by two.
? The next game, the other person serves and they continue to switch off, game after game, until someone wins the set. Generally, to win a set, a player must win at least six games, and two more than his opponent.
? A match is made up of a number of sets (often 5 or so), and the player that wins the most sets wins the match.
These are only the basics on how to play tennis. Again, if you really want to learn how to play tennis, it is best to go out and play with someone who already knows how. Although, it can be very fun to simply go out and hit a few balls back and forth with a friend, regardless of whether or not you know how to play tennis properly.
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Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and sports. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on tennis, please visit E-Tennis. |
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Tennis - The Serve-How Important is It?
The serve is the most important foundation block of anyones tennis game, unless you are Dementieva! (smile. Just kidding.)
Statistically, about 60 to 65% of the whole game of tennis is serve and return, if you understand the importance of these figures, you will easily understand why professionals try to excel particularly in these areas.
When watching professional players it may give you the impression that all hit their serves flat and at a “zillion” miles per hour.consequently many of us, when in trouble with the serve, follow that rule with disastrous results.
Factors that lead to losing control of your serve, yourself and your game:
- Panic. Your hard first serve is not working, you start hitting harder and harder and less and less of your serves are going in.
What to do - Start your matches by gradually increasing the speed of your serve, by serving the first serve with more spin the usual (kick, twist, slice, your choice) in the first couple of games. As you gain condidence and get deeper into the match according to the score and situation start using your first serve with lesser spin and as a weapon.
- Fear. Your opponents get cocky and start jumping all over your second serves and pounding them for winners or attacking you and putting enormous pressure at the net. This kibd of outright intimidadtion leads you to barely push the serve over the net.
What to do - Once you get control of your first serve the occasional need to hit second serves will be a lot easier to manage. One thing you have to keep in mind is; second serves are all about courage. No matter how much pressure your opponent is trying to exert on you, stand tall, show him you are confident, be courageous hit your second serve just as if it was a first serve but with a lot more spin on it!
- Distress. Your heart starts pounding like the steam train to Manchuria, your thoughts start getting blurred and you start serving faults and double faults in a rapid fire sequence.
What to do - Take your time, bounce the ball several times on the ground, take a few deep breaths, compose yourself, focus on the target area where you want to place your serve and go for it!
Very important: No matter how hard Professional players hit their first or second serves they always apply one kind of spin or another, you should do the same. For a visual slow motion of the serve feel free to go to my “Best Shots” section on my website at http://www.tenniscruz.com/login.asp (it is for free).
For comments or ideas about this article please email the author
Copyright ? 1999-2005 Tenniscruz.com?. All rights reserved.
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Sergio Cruz is ex # 1 National Champion, Davis Cup Player from Portugal and former Coach Jim Courier ATP World Ranking # 1 Contact: cruz@tenniscruz.com or http://www.forum.tenniscruz.com or http://www.tenniscruz.com |
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