How To Bring Your Practice Performance Into Matches

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Are you really happy with your tennis game in practice where you can hit all your strokes but then go to a tennis match and all your strokes feel like that they break down? Hi, I'm Dr. Patrick Cohn. In this episode of the Tennis Psychology Podcast, I answer a question from a player who has trouble bringing her tennis practice game to matches.

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Here's what Lisa had to say about her tennis game. How do I bring my tennis practice to my tennis matches? Why can't I play as well in a match as when I practice in practice? I have all the right ground strokes worked out wonderfully and can execute them over and over. When I'm playing in a match, it's like I have no idea what is wrong with my strokes or how to correct them. I'm always so good in practice, but when I play in a match, I fail. Why do I get a serve or a stroke down pat in practice and then during my match I lose that perfect stroke and go back to my old way of hitting? Well, Lisa, this is the number one question that we get at tennispsychologytips.com and peaksports.com the reason being is this is the number one reason that athletes come to work with us because they understand that it's no longer about their strokes. It's no longer about the lessons. It's no longer about how hard they practice. It's really about how their mind is getting in the way when they go from practice to matches. And if you're one of those players that tends to underperform when you go to from practice to matches, I understand how frustrating that must be for you and really eating you alive. What can you do about it and what's causing it? Well, first of all, you have to look at what changes when you go from practice to matches. That's the first question I would want to ask you. Do your strokes feel tighter? Do you feel more tense? Do you have more apprehension? Do you have some fear of embarrassment? So you really have to drill down and find out what's getting in the way. Often what you feel is what I call lack of trust in your skills. A lack of trust in your skills is that you can't take those skills that you can do in practice into competition. However, lack of trust doesn't operate in a vacuum. There's certain things that can affect that lack of trust. So what you have to determine is what ultimately am I afraid of if I lose this match? 9 times out of 10, it comes down to worry about the results and the aftermath of those results. For example, are you afraid of embarrassing yourself if you make a lot of mistakes? Are you afraid of disappointing maybe a teammate in doubles, for example, are you afraid of looking silly or not gaining the approval of a coach or a parent, for example? Those are often the underlying issues that I find that deal with this lack of trust. So what can you do about it? Well, like I said, first of all, you got to find out what's the ultimate fear there, what's driving that lack of trust, and then be able to take that head on. Ultimately, you have to stop worrying so much about the outcome, the results, what other people think about your game, especially if you make mistakes, and instead just play your game the same game that you do in practice. I know that's an oversimplification, and it is. But that's the bottom line of where you need to get to. You need to get to the point where you're not so consumed about the outcome. Who's going to win, who's going to lose, what's the aftermath of that outcome, and you can get back to just playing one point at a time. In addition to that, I also suggest that you start getting into the frame of mind that I'm going to be able to control my strokes the best if I give up control. There's a saying we have in sports psychology. In order to gain control, you have to give up control. It sounds like, Lisa, that you're over controlling your strokes in an attempt to steer or guide the ball. And that's never going to help produce the best results, the same results that you get in a practice situation when you're not steering and guiding it. Thanks for your question and good luck with your game. If you have a tennis psychology question, please visit my website@peaksports.com and click on Contact Us.

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