How to Prepare for Tough and Challenging Scenarios
Are you intimidated to play against tough, high-ranked tennis opponents?How do you prepare for playing a formidable opponent?
Many tennis players practice the same way, every practice, hitting some serves, going through some drills, playing a few practice matches, all in a low-key manner.
How often are matches low keyed? NEVER!
When you are not preparing or practicing intensely, you are preparing to battle an upcoming opponent, let alone beat your opponent. In our Mental Game of Tennis Survey, a tennis player raised the following concern:
“Why do I get so intimidated to play high-ranked opponents? I am so overwhelmed playing tough tennis matches that, most of the time, I lose in straight sets.”
Are you mentally prepared for your game?
Performances and your mental state are a result of preparation. If you are not practicing in the manner you want to compete, you will not be mentally prepared to compete. You will feel overwhelmed and intimidated by highly-ranked opponents.
You will feel anxious and lack confidence because you are not mentally prepared to meet the demands of a battle on the court.
You should train and practice for battling against opponents in your upcoming tournament. When you practice the same way for all opponents, you are not considering the unique strengths and styles of play of different players.
You should always practice as you want to play. Practice different scenarios that will occur in tough matches to feel more comfortable and confident when these situations arise in competition.
When you prepare for tough, challenging scenarios, you are also training your mind to maintain poise in challenging conditions and have the confidence to go for winners aggressively.
At the 2021 US Open World No.18, Maria Sakkari ended Bianca Andreescu’s 10-match unbeaten streak in a grueling 3-hour, 30-minute match, 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinal.
In their previous matchup at the 2021 Miami Open, Andreescu and Sakkari battled in a hard-fought semifinal match, with Andreescu winning 7-6(7), 3-6, 7-6(4). This time around, Sakkari was prepared for a long, tough match….
SAKKARI: “I told [my coach] Tom [Hill] and my team before the match that I’m prepared for 7-6 in the third. Seriously, I never thought that [playing against] Bianca [Andreescu], [the match] would [end with me winning] 6-4, 6-1 unless I played lights out tennis, hit winners left and right. But because she fights every single point, I knew that it was going to be a very tough match.”
Tough opponents often mean tough matches but not necessarily a loss. If you practice and prepare to battle against tough competitors, you will feel more prepared to fight for every point throughout the match.
Mental Preparation for Tough Competition
To battle in matches, you must first have a vision for the tennis player you want to be. You can do this via mental imagery…
Visualization is a mental skill that you can use to see yourself in the battle. You can visualize playing confidently late in a match, successfully rebounding after dropping your serve, or aggressively going for winners down the line in tiebreakers.
When you create an image of who you want to be as a tennis player, you can start training your body and mind to become that player who confidently battles against tough competition.
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I deliver this new program based on my readers feedback and comments from athletes who have already used The Confident Athlete programs with huge success! My new program walks you through, step-by-step, using a practical workbook. And the best part – you only need 15 minutes a day!