The Opposite Phenomenon
TOM’S ONLINE TENNIS LESSON - The opposite
phenomenon
Often players do the opposite of what they
are supposed to do in order to solve problems in their match
play. This opposite phenomenon consistently occurs on tennis
courts throughout the world. Players actually sabotage themselves
simply by thinking incorrectly! Make no mistake about it,
thinking is a powerful tool, in fact ONE thought can make
you or break you.
Let me illustrate by giving you three quick
examples.
EXAMPLE ONE
Did you ever notice that after your opponent
hits two or three balls back to you, you inevitably overplay
each succeeding ball? By the time the fourth or fifth ball
comes back it does not matter if this is the right ball (easy
set up) to hit a winner, you pulverized it anyway. What causes
this miscalculation? There are two reasons. First, the more
times the ball comes back over the net, the more you think
you will be the one to miss. As a result, you become impatient
and nervous and attempt to end the point as soon as possible.
Second, the more the ball keeps coming back, the more you
think you have done something wrong! Again, you become impatient
and nervous and go for the gold too soon, leaving you with
an unforced error. This incorrect thinking causes players
to lose many, many points. Just because the ball keeps coming
back does not mean you have done something wrong. I refer
you to Tennis 101! Player A hits ball to player B and player
B tries to hit it back. This is ! the object of the game.
It’s supposed to come back! :) Instead of trying to
constantly put the ball away, do the opposite. Learn to be
more patient and less nervous and wait for the right shot
before attempting a winner.
EXAMPLE TWO
You are having a tough day at the courts,
your timing and rhythm are off and you are not playing well.
What should you do? Oddly enough the solution most players
choose is to rear back and hit the ball harder! Inevitably
they dig themselves in even deeper. The correct solution is
to do the opposite. You should slow it down and try to re-establish
your timing and rhythm, skillfully working yourself back into
the match. As your timing begins to improve, then you can
speed up your shots again. Hitting the ball harder when you
are in a slump does not make sense. If your timing and rhythm
were off at your normal speed, why would it be any better
when your blasting the ball? Learn to think right about this
situation and save yourself a lot of frustration.
EXAMPLE THREE
You are at the net and receive a high slow
ball. You think this should be an easy shot, but it’s
not! The opposite is true. This is a difficult shot. Why?
Because YOU have to generate all the power and control. The
truth is it’s often more difficult to hit the slow balls
than the fast balls. This is why you see so many players make
errors on slow balls...especially returning a slow serve.
When returning a slow serve players figure because it’s
slow they can go for the quick winner. Inevitably they overplay
the shot. Learn to take these slow balls, hit a medium pace
shot and then either attack the net or retreat to the baseline.
SUMMARY
Well, there you have it --- three match-play
problems solved by thinking the opposite.
1. Don’t think you have done something wrong when the
ball comes back to you more than two or three times.
2. Don’t hit harder when you are in a slump, instead
slow it down and re-establish your timing and rhythm.
3. Do not think it’s easy to hit a ball that is coming
at you slowly...it’s not. It requires excellent technique
and stroke production to master the slow ball.
Your tennis pro,
Tom Veneziano
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