The General Psychology of Tennis (Part 2)
Posted by Gail Jones in Uncategorized, tags: apparel, attire, celebrities, enjoyment, Fashion, fitness, health, hobbies, other, outdoors, recreation, sport, tennis, Uncategorized, wimbledonThe hard-hitting, erratic, net-rushing tennis-player is a person of impulse. There is no real system to his/her 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 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-alert mind. This/her is the player to study and learn from. He is a player with a definite purpose. A player who has an answer to every query you present him in your game. He is the most subtle opponent in the world of tennis. He is from the school of Brookes. Second only to him is the player of dogged determination that sets his/her mind on one plan and sticks to it, bitterly, fiercely fighting to the end, with no thought of change.
This is the player whose psychology is fairly easy to work out, but whose mental standpoint is difficult to derail, because he never permits 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 sort from your own mental pattern, and then plan your game along the lines most suited to you. When two men are in the same class as regards stroke and equipment, the determining factor in any given match is the mental viewpoint. Luck, so-called, is often seizing the psychological advantage of a break in the game, and turning it to your own account. We hear a great deal about the “shots players have made.” Few understand the importance of the “shots players have missed.”
The science 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 forces you far out of court with an angle-shot. You run hard to it, and getting there, drive it hard and fast down the side-line, missing it by an inch. Your opponent is surprised and shaken, understanding that your shot could just as well have gone in as out. He will expect you to attempt it again and he will not take the risk next time. He will try 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: all this by a miss.
However, if you had merely popped back that ball, and it had been killed, your opponent would have felt even more confident of your inability to get the ball out of his/her reach, while you would only have been winded to no avail.
Let’s just say that you had made that shot down the sideline. It was a seemingly impossible get. First it amounts to TWO points, because 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, because he feels that he has thrown away a big opportunity.
The psychology involved in a game of tennis is fascinating, but readily understandable. Both player start 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 standpoint becomes poor. The sole objective of the first player is to hold his/her lead, thus holding his/her confidence.
If the second player pulls even or draws ahead, the inevitable reaction is an even greater contrast in psychology. There is the natural confidence of the leader, but coupled with the great stimulus of having turned a seemingly inevitable defeat into a probable victory. The situation of the other player is the reverse. He is likely to lose confidence and play worse. The collapse of his game plan soon follows.
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