Match Readiness - A mental and emotional state

How do I get ready for a match or tournament?

What/How do I need to do to prepare?

Did I do enough?

What if I'm not good enough?

What if I lose...

These are just some of the plethora of questions/thoughts/doubts that go through EVERY tennis players' mind before a competition. They sthealthily find us, latch on like a parasite and have no sense of "good timing". Though mental preparation and training is something we can all work on, a good portion of it is tied to our personal being outside of the court with our daily life. This is something that deep sessions of introspection can uncover to grant us the abilitiy to recognize.

However, for tennis specific moments, it is possible to shut these out or at least reframe to make more manageable. We attempt to train these thoughts to not cause a hindrance or unnecessary stress before our competitions.

Let's take a look through this intricate web of feelings, emotions and thoughts as we start to unpack some tangible solutions/methods to remedy them.

We can start by first understanding our mindset when preparing for an event.

How do I get ready for a match or tournament?

1. Understand what your objective is.

2. Are you wanting to execute a new tactic, plan or strategy?

3. Do you want to compete to test out a specific mindset or physical stroke?

4. Achieve a performance goal?

5. Something else? A combination of a few elements?

Consider:  Be sure to know what your specific goal is for the match or tournament and make the focal point around attempting to achieve that! Your Win or Loss in the match becomes less of a significant factor if the primary objective is something even more specific and controllable. The outcome of a match is not entirely in our control. Therefore, having a specific match objective(s) allows us to focus on something we can control and work towards.

My Take: I always need to keep sight of what my objective(s) is for the match I'm playing. The planning begins within the few days leading to the start of the event. THe primary objective is solidified in the final day leading up to or the day of the event. I do my best to follow and remind myself of this during the entirety of the competition. I know that for the framework of my success, this event requires me to focus on said plan.

What/How do I need to do to prepare?

1. How far away is the match? Do you have the right amount of time allocated to prepare with training and practice?

2. Did you train the right parts of your game in the week(s) leading up?

3. Did you play enough points/practice matches?

4. Did you get enough rest leading up to the event (day before, few days before)?

5. Have you prepared your equipment/nutritional plan for the event? For the days leading up to the event?

   
   
   
   

Consider: We need to be quite meticulous in how preparation is achieved for a particular event/match/tournament. We are all unique in our own way. Each one of us likes, dislikes, stresses, relaxes differently. Consider, ponder and figure out what method or format you will need to get yourself ready in the the weeks, days and hours before the start of the event.

My take: I almost never feel fully prepared. That's not necessarily a lack of training on my end but simply a part of who I am as a person. However, this is also a driving factor in not feeling overconfident in myself and expecting a specific result. It keeps me grounded and forces the objective to stay clear and focused.

Did I do enough?

1. Was there ample time dedicated to your training?

2. Was the time spent on the right elements to get you ready?

3. Sometimes we need to find the right balance in training enough vs overtraining.

4. Excessive training before an event can lead to mental burnout and/or physical fatigue.

   
   
   
   

Consider: Test out what works and doesn't work in terms of hours dedicated to training during the week for a weekend competiiton. Be sure your body is ready by tracking what types of weekly training, nutrition and hydration works best for you during the preparation phase.

My take: In my 20s I made the mistake of overtraining before events and having bouts of dehydration and sometimes a lack of fire to compete for the first day of the event. This was not because I didn't want to be there, but simply because a lot of energy (mental/physical) went into training leading up to the event. There was too much energy loss in the day or two preceding the event. I realized after some trial and errer that the two days before the event must be taken at a much lower intensity to maintain a solid fighting spirit on the day of.

What if I'm not good enough?

1. That's OK!

2. We will always have another match to play and another event to compete in.

3. Use the experience, make note of future adjustments and plan how to move forward.

4. Nerves, emotions and reactions are all natural for us. It's about how we harness it and use it for positivity the next time around.

   
   
   
   

Consider: Focus on the positives from the match preparation. Rember the objective and keep the perspective/bigger picture in sight. Every match/competiton is another opportunity to test your skill sets against an opponent. Data can be collected and adjustments can be made for improvements in your next event.

My take: The last line, "Data can be collected and adjustments can be made for improvements in your next event." has proven to be very successful to my tennis development. It keeps things extremely focused and straight forward. I'm fully aware of what the objective is at all times and try to compete with that mindset and standard rather than hainvg my mind wander to the win or loss.

What if I lose...

My take: Here is a portion of a 2012 story that I shared with some of my students and their parents regarding Mental Training & Stress.

"For me personally, I would wake up Thursday nights (before the tournament starting on Friday) countless times with anxious dreams of the event. In the dream I'd typically be losing, having a poor performance day with a particular stroke, showing up late for the match, etc." Many Thursday/Fridays I'd even hope it would rain so that I didn't have to play in the tournament."

The above dilema was causing some inevitable performance issues for the competitive weekend. However, the root of the issue was never:

1. Identified

2. Addressed

3. Resolved

   
   
   
   

I was afraid to lose when I was younger. I never shared this with anyone nor were my coaches able to identify and probe the right questions to figure this out. It was a crippling and anxious feeling that never stopped. When I was around 16-17 years of age (2004-05), I was able to moderately deal with it and it became less frequent. After finishing at Georgia Tech in 2011, I began plalying Futures Qualifying events and Prize money tournaments for a National Ranking. The fear and anxiety kicked in full force at that time until mid-late 2012.

I can recall one match in which it came down to the 3rd set and tie-breaker at 6 all. The tie-breaker was quite tense from both of us, making a good bit of errors and nervous points. I remember having the feeling of not wanting to play anymore. I wanted my opponent to double fault, fall apart and gift me the match with errors. Of course this didn't happen and somehow I hung in there and had a matchpoint. I was serving for the match. In this point, I ended up coming to net after the groundstroke exchange and having a routine overhead essentially to finish it off. I could feel my whole body tense up, legs locked, arm felt like a metal I-beam, a rush of emotions all at once.... I mishit the overhead wide in the alley. I knew it was over at that point for sure! Of couse, with that mindset, my opponent went on to win the next 2 points and the match was over. It was the most distraught I had been at the end of a match in a long time. However, it was very clear to me that I was going through some type of performance/sport related mental struggles. Though the loss stung (A LOT) and for a while after, I was finally ready and able to start the process of resolving and understanding the mental space that I personally went to when it came time for competition.

At this point, I'm in my mid-late 20s. I was finally able to identify and start to address the issue. Once I recognized what it was, what triggered it and how to deal with it in a positive way, I began the process to resolve this state of mind.

-Amyn