Put Some Vinegar in Their Cocoa

CAtennis.com has had the opportunity to watch a couple of mid-level professional women's events being played in Southern California. At first blush, every one of these players seems like a world-beater. The ball explodes off the string bed like a missile being launched from the battleship and, from the sound of the ball, it appears that they have fire-crackers in their strings. However, if you open your eyes and get past the intimidation factor, you realize how one-dimensional a lot of these players are. They are amazing at every shot that bounces between the knees and the chest. When such a ball comes in the middle of the court...well, fuggedaboutit. They can crank it like the best of them. However, looks can be deceiving. When the ball is high/low and away, things take a whole new dimension. Therefore, it is perplexing to see that certain strategies are not being implemented in the match by someone who is hungry to win. 

As a player, if you want to slug it out and take your chances, then so be it. Ultimately, the best ball striker that day will come out on top and there's no reason to be upset if you end up on the wrong side of the score-card. However, if you want to win, it's important to analyze your opponent's matches as well as practices in order to devise a game-plan. It is really in practices when you can pick up sublte clues about your opponent's game. For example, does she spend an inordinate amount of time crushing cross-courts? Does she rally mindlessly from the middle of the court? Well, then your mentality should be: "I don't care how good you are from that spot because the LAST thing I'm going to hit is going to be in your wheelhouse." Or "you like your forehand?! Great! Hit it a 1000 times in practice 'cause you ain't gonna be seeing any in the match". Or "you like THAT?! I'm going to give you the exact OPPOSITE of what you like; Now drink up." Remember that, for a lot of the players, practices are like safety blankets. They practice one way and they play matches the same way. Take them out of their comfort zone - be it with sharp angles, heavy topspins, deft slices or attacking plays - and they will be dumbfounbded. Why?! The answer is because a lot of players are simply too lazy to do the dirty work in practice. They are comfortable hitting certain shots and continue to work on them long after they mastered them. A good, smart player will always look to expand his/her dimensions and expand his/her mental, technical and tactical horizons. In the long-run, the "same-old, same-old" is a losing strategy. A smart player WILL find a way to punch through your defenses or to neutralize your offense. THEN WHAT?! Are you going to keep hitting harder? Try plays/strokes that you haven't practiced? Give up? 

So next time you see your opponent crushing ground-strokes from a stationary position, don't despair. See how good s/he is while on the run. If your opponent is adept at covering the court side-to-side (the sign of someone with some degree of intelligence), see how good she is at covering diagonals, up-and-back and behind her (i.e., wrong-foot, or contre-pied). Some players do cover the baseline fairly well. At first, these players can be intimidating. However, get them out of this comfort zone (which for them = being on the run "coast to coast") and their games will break down. Very few players will make the effort of performing drills where they cover the deep corner (e.g. BH), the other deep corner (i.e., FH), short FH corner, deep BH corner, short BH corner, rinse-and repeat. When they are faced with situations like this in the match, they will often take the coward's way out and slap a low percentage show just to get rid of the ball. THAT's when you know that you got them! Learn to take your opponent out of the comfort zone, leae them with a bad taste in their mouths from the first point to the last, and you will win more matches and beat "better" opponents. 

Whatever Problems You May Have, They Have Their Own Problems Too

Whatever problems you may have, just remember they have their own problems too. This is very practical advice that is very easy to forget in the heat of the battle. Reading this article, unemotional and clear headed, this makes perfect logical sense. Only problem is it is very hard to remember when you need it. Everyone needs to be reminded from time to time that it is easy to forget the task at hand (to win the match) instead of intensifying all your time and energy on your own problems (technique, feeling the ball, dogmatic strategies, etc). Tennis is never static, the elements are always changing. Your opponent is confronting their own demons as the match unfolds, you may not know exactly what those issues are, but they are lurking underneath the surface. If you are paying attention, good things can happen.

The most efficient players mentally play tennis from a 3rd person point of view as if they are observing the match from the stands. As the match unfolds, they take notes on all the jabs and body blows delivered and recieved. They see with clarity how their opponent is boiling inside, frosting at the mouth when things don't go their way. They see with crystal vision how their opponent plays 30-all points. They see how their opponent can't keep their cookies together when they get a break of serve. Sometimes these little cues and nuances can tip the match in your favor and increase your odds of winning.

Imagine the following scenario. You are down 2-0 to an evenly matched player who you have never played before. I say evenly matched because you have done your research and you notice you have similar wins and losses in comparison. The stakes are high and pride is on the line, you both desperately want to win. Your opponent serves at 2-0 and easily holds for a 3-0 lead.

FREEZE

Most players confronted with a 3-0 deficit hit the panic button. Uh oh, change strategy. Go for broke. Serve and volley. Pace around the court in-between points. Panic, panic, panic. Drastic measures have to be taken.

REWIND

It is only one break of serve. You were nervous to start the match giving them a handful of unforced errors. Lets settle down and make them hit some balls. "Aha, whatever problems you have, they have their own problems too!" This wonderful piece of practical advice pops into your head and your blood pressure goes down. You realize the match is not slipping out of your hands, but it is closely within reach. You buckle down and get back to work.

OTHER SIDE OF NET

Your opponent who just held for the 3-0 lead is overthinking it. "What a great start! Shoot, I don't know if I can keep this up. I'm playing awfully good, almost too good to be true. What if he starts to make some returns? He doesn't realize I don't like long rallies. I hope he keeps missing."

So if you remain calm and practical, just remember, whatever problems you may have, they have their own problems too. Sometimes your opponent is willing to lose the match if you give him a chance to choke. Better players don't crack til deeper in the match, your job is to hang around and find their breaking point. You got nothing better to do, so just keep hanging around.

Watch the Ball!!!

"Watch the ball" along with "move your feet" are two staple pieces of advice that a player is bound to hear throughout his/her career. Obviously, since one of the centerpieces of our sport is to hit a moving object, both components must be mastered in order to succeed. Although movement has been covered ad nauseum by tennis writers, less ink has been devoted to the concept of watching the ball. Here are CAtennis.com's thoughts on the subject:

1. Watch the ball so that you can pick up the speed of the ball. Remember that light travels faster than sound. Don't rely on the cracking sound of the ball to inform you that the opponent has hit a hard and heavy shot (or, conversely, a soft ball). Pick up the necessary information from your opponent's preparation and the velocity at which the ball is leaving your opponent's string bed. This will enable you to prepare early and adequately. The ball will slow down somewhat after touching the ground - due to friction - but your best guess at anticipating the speed is to analyze the trajectory prior to the bounce. 

2. Watch the ball so that you can pick up the spin of the ball. In addition to hitting fabulous shots, great players are also known for doing the simple things really, really well. They don't overthink or overcomplicate the basics. If the ball comes with underspin, they know how to get (and stay) under and adjust the face of the racket accordingly. If the ball comes with topspin, they know that the speed of the ball prior to the bounce is deceptive - that the ball will bounce and, due to forward rotation, will "explode" forward. Therefore, the high-level players will prepare a smidgeon sooner in order to avoid being jammed by the oncoming ball. As mentioned in a prior article, the ball (whether struck with top- or under-spin) may also come with a slight side-spin which further alters the trajectory of the ball and forces the player to take an extra couple of small adjustment steps. 

3. Watch the ball so that you can anticipate the angle of reflection. The basic physics concept is that when a ray of light strikes a flat surface at a certain angle (angle of incidence) it will reflect at the same angle (angle of reflection or refraction) in the opposit direction (see image to the right). For example, if sunlight hits a mirror at 45degrees, the light will bounce off at 45degrees in the opposite direction. Substitute ball for sunlight and the application is that when the ball arcs and then drops at a certain angle it will bounce, more or less, at the same angle (give or take a couple of degrees due to pace, spin, smootheness of the court, wind, etc). As a player, if you can anticipate the angle of the ball's "reflection", you can adjust - whether with your feet, balance, core and/or racket - your shot. A lot of developing players wait for the ball to bounce in order to prepare. Unless you're playing Criss Angel, there is no magic! The ball will not change trajectory in mid-air (and may only change very slightly after the bounce). Accordingly, if the opponent sends the ball your way in a certain manner (horizontal angle as well as vertical angle), you should be able to determine where and how the ball will bounce even before the ball crosses the net. If you truly watch the ball (as well as the opponent's biomechanics), you will shave precious time off your preparation. 

To assist yourself with watching the ball, try doing the following: right after the opponent (pr practice partner) has contacted the ball, tell yourself (in your mind) "Back" (i.e. racket back). Do you have to take the racket back as you're doing it? Depending on your strokes and the particular circumstances - maybe, maybe not. However, giving yourself this verbal cue will put you - mentally - in the position to prepare a split second sooner. In other words, you will trick your brain (and your eyes) to start watching the ball sooner and with a purpose. 

Rock Paper Scissor Strategy

"If I beat Johnny and Johnny beats Bobby, why do I always lose to Bobby?" Sound familiar? If you're a junior - or even a developing adult player - this type of thinking will have crossed your mind at one point or another in your tennis career. It is attractive to think that, just because you're better than player X (objectively or in terms of ranking), and player X defeats player Y on a regular basis, you are automatically entitled to a win over player Y. The sooner you learn to get out of this mental quicksand, the better player you will become.

You see, when it comes to tennis, there are several factors that need to be evaluated before determining whether you should take a win over player Y for granted. For example, you may possess a huge serve while player X has only a spin serve. Although on paper it may look like you should have no problems holding serve against player Y, the reality is that player Y may love returning big, flat serves and may have difficulty adjusting to kicks and slices. Also, where you may be a righty, player X may be a lefty. This is only the tip of the iceberg but in terms of winning and losing you must objectively evaluate your game, player X's game as well as player Y's game to determine how X beat Y and what kind of trouble player Y may give you given your game. 

Let's delve even deeper into these concepts by looking at three examples. Player X is a counter-puncher; a pure defensive player. Player Y is an aggressive baseliner; he is comfortable at the baseline (perhaps right on top of the baseline) as well as at the net. Player Z is a pure serve-and volleyer; he looks to get in every chance he gets. For purposes of this example, let's also assume that the players are closely matched in terms of results and rankings. From experience, we have found the following to be generally true:

1. Player X (grinder) will generally beat Player Y (aggressive baseliner). Reason: although player Y is comfortable at the baseline, Player X is a baseline specialist who can run shots down all day and not miss. He has more stamina and more patience. Long points and longer matches (especially in tough conditions) do not bother Player X at all. The longer the match goes on, the more confidence is gained by Player X. Player Y does venture into the net once in a while but, not being a volley specialist, he wins as many points from inside the service line as he loses - resulting in frustration and over-hitting (just what Player X wants). Althoug the match is close, Player X usually snatches victory from the jaws of defeat. 

2. Player Y will beat Player Z (serve and volleyer). Reason: Player Y is more comfortable at the baseline that Player Z. The shorter points - which offer lots of tagerts - are just what Player Y desires. Player Y loves to thump weak pop-ups and he zeros in on openings like a sniper. Player Y is also skilled at coming in and manages to steal some points that way from Player Z. Player Z seeks to come in but, by having Player Y "hug the baseline", he is forced to come up with better serves and tougher volleys under pressure. With flatter shots from Player Y (i.e., enough topsin to clear the net and then dip), Player Z has less time to come in and must make contact with the volley further back than normal. Sometimes, Player Z will be forced to stay back where he is like a fish out of water. Unless Player Z serves and volleys well beyond his skill level, chances are that Player Y will run away with the victory. 

3 Player Z will beat Player X. Reason: Player X is playing further behind the baseline than Player Y would. Therefore, Player Z has a split-second longer to come in and punch the volley. By being closer to the net, Player Z is in better position to open up the court and, as a result, he forces Player X to cover more ground. Sure, Player X will hit some tough passing shots here and there. However, with his loopy topspin, they are too few and far between. Player X is fighting a losing battle where he has to work extremely hard for every point just to have a fighting chance. All this time, Player Z chops him up with solid serves and deft volleys. Player X lacks the opportunity to "get in a rhythm"; the points are simply too short for this and he is forced to hit against a skidding ball (as opposed to a ball with some topsin that would be hit by someone like Player Y).

With the foregoing in mind, the general advice would be to (1) determine how you win and how you lose; (2) determine how your peers win and how they lose (evaluate the information objectively and in a cold and calculating manner); (3) understand that, despite your rankings, you are fallible (definitely not immortal); and (4) practice mastering every gamestyle so that you can apply it when necessary. As you play, keep your eyes open and stay cool-headed so that you can shift strategies as necessary. Try to refrain from pigeonholing yourself as either this type of player or that. Be malleable; do not impose limitations upon yourself. By remaining flexible in your thinking and playing you will be in a better position to utilize the correct tool(s) for the job. 

To assist you, keep the following quote by Bruce Lee in mind: 

“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

Chill Out, Bro

It is clear that intense competition can cause athletes to react both physically and mentally in a manner which negatively affects their performance abilities. Tennis players are not an exception to this rule. This is particularly true for the first tournament match (i.e. before the player has found his/her rhythm and concentration zone). In one study, results showed a cortisol response to competition, which was especially characterized by an anticipatory rise. Males had the same pattern of cortisol responses than females, even if the cortisol concentrations were significantly higher in females the day of the competition, Psychophysiological stress in tennis players during the first single match of a tournament, Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009 Jan (Filaire E., Alix D., Ferrand C., Verger M.)

Accordingly, the purpose of practice is to prepare the body and mind for the stresses of performance. Good coaches will provide their students with a lot of the skills necessary to thrive under pressure. However, there's one skill that is hardly ever practiced and that's how the player interacts with the parent immediately before the match. Another study found that tennis parents are usually stressed by 7 different factors: competition, coaches, finance, time, siblings, organization-related, and developmental, Understanding parental stressors: an investigation of British tennis-parents, J Sports Sci. 2009 Feb 15 (Harwood C., Knight C.) So where the player is stressed by 1 factor - competition - the parents seem to be stressed by 6 other factors. It doesn't take much to figure out that uncontrolled parental anxiety can be filtered down to the players thereby increasing their anxiety levels. Furthermore, where the parents may be stressed about the price of gas and overall cost of tournament, the player can be led to feel that the match is of utmost importance (thereby adding to the child's stress levels concerning competition). Add to this some ill-timed or ill-conceived post-match statements or questions, and it's easy to see how some players start to overemphasize the role of winning in the development (thereby repeating and increasing the stress cycle).

So what can the coach do to prepare the student for the pre-match car-ride (assuming, of course, that the coach is separate from the parent)? In this regard, the coaches' role is to train the parents. First of all, it is important for the player to play practice matches where the parent drops off the student to the courts. Sometimes, the parent will watch the practice match; other times, s/he will run errands. Practice match results aren't important, but the things that are learned through this process are very important. In this regard, dropping off the kid to a practice match serves as behavioral training for the parents as well - if this practice is, in fact, regarded as such. Parents can monitor their practice-match stress levels and conversation with their children and see how it matches up with a "real" match scenario. Second, some parents have found it easier to dissociate competition from the trip. For example, they can find "cool things to do" in the area of the tournament and, whenever, the conversation turns too serious towards the match, they can emphasize that they are so excited about having the opportunity to go to such-and-such mall or museum or visit whatever landmark. Again, the child is helped to remember that there are more things in life besides tennis. Tennis is simply one of the processes (the best one, in our opinion) for learning about life. Third, any conversation regarding the match should be kept to "practical" topics: what's the game plan? What do you know about this kid? How are you going to approach the first 3 games of the match? What happens if your first game plan fails; what's your back-up plan? How are you taking into account the conditions? Etc. In other words, winning/losing is implied so talking about "kicking his butt" or "go get 'em" is only of limited value. Furthermore, rather than telling the player what to do ("make sure that you..."), have him/her become devise the plan. In other words, make the association that you're more interested in the process than the result. Lastly, this talk should be saved for the last couple of minutes of the car-ride. Use the duration of a car-ride to a practice match as your rule of thumb. For example, if the practice-match ride is only 10 minutes, then it's probably best to not wear out the kid with tennis-related matters for 1hr 45mins prior to the match...this is draining and stressful and most children cannot bear the additional baggage.