The Psychology of Tennis (Part 2)

The hard-hitting, unpredictable, net-rushing tennis-player is a creature 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 most unnerving player is the one who mixes his/her strategy from back to fore court at the direction of an ever-alert mind. This/her is the player to study and learn from. He is a player with a definite intention. A player who has an answer to every query you present him in your game. He is the most subtle antagonist in the world of tennis. He is of the school of Brookes. Second only to him is the player of slavish determination that sets his/her mind on one plan and adheres to it, bitterly, fiercely battling to the end, with no thought of changing.

This is the player whose psychology is fairly easy to understand, but whose mental viewpoint is difficult to upset, for he never allows himself to think about anything except his game. This/her player is your Johnston or your Wilding. I respect the mental capacity of Brookes more, but I admire the tenacity of purpose of Johnston.

Choose your sort from your own mental processes, and then work out your game along the lines best suited to you. When two men are on the same level concerning stroke, strength and equipment, the deciding factor in any game is the mental viewpoint. Luck, so-called, is often just grasping the psychological advantage of a break in the game, and turning it to your own advantage. We hear a lot about the “shots he has made.” Few understand the importance of the “shots he has missed.”

The psychology 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 drives you far out of court with an angle-shot. You run hard for it, and having reached it, you drive it hard and fast down the side-line, missing it by an inch. Your opponent is surprised and shaken, knowing that your shot could just as well have gone in as out. He will expect you to try it again and he will not risk it 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/her chance of error, just because of a miss.

However, if you had merely tapped back that ball, and it had been killed, your opponent would have felt increasingly confident of your inability to get the ball out of his/her reach, while you would only have been out of breath to no avail.

Let’s suppose that you had made that shot down the sideline. It was an apparently impossible get. First it amounts to TWO points, because it took 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, as he thinks that he has lost a big opportunity.

The psychology involved in a game of tennis is fascinating, but readily understandable. Both player begin with equal chances. However, once one player has gained a real advantage, his/her confidence rises, while his/her opponent stresses, and his/her mental standpoint becomes weaker. The only objective of the first player is to hold his/her lead, thus holding his/her confidence.

If the second player draws even or draws ahead, the inevitable reaction is an even more drastic contrast in psychology. There is the natural confidence of the leader, but coupled with the great stimulus of having turned a seemingly sure-fire defeat into a probable victory. The situation of the other player is the reverse. He is apt to lose confidence and play worse. The collapse of his game plan soon follows.

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