Tuesday, 16 June 2015

BUT CAN YOU PLAY TENNIS ? CHAPTER 12



 Even after just a couple of tournaments in Europe I was beginning to understand just how tough the Money Circuit was. My practice form was not a realistic gauge as to where my game was, in fact it was well off the mark. You can't beat match play for toughening up your own inconsistencies both technically and mentally. The following analogy was something I wrote sometime ago however it summed up where I was at with my tennis. In a nutshell, I could hit a tennis ball but there's a big difference in hitting a tennis ball as opposed to actually playing tennis....
 
 
 
 

 

 


BUT CAN YOU PLAY TENNIS' ?

I have stated many times that there are two types of tennis players, there are tennis players who can play tennis and there are tennis players who can't, so how do we define them ?
Anyone can hit a tennis ball, some do it to almost perfection especially when up against a ball machine or a practice opponent yet that's where the form stays. So what about the other type of player ?
Well the other type of tennis player is the one who perhaps doesn't even train as hard as the ball machine player yet this person knows how to play tennis. 
The game of tennis has long been known as one that produces players who are technically gifted yet their claim to fame may be simply the occasional good win or smaller tournament victory.
So how do you go from being someone who can hit a tennis ball well to being someone who can play tennis ? Well it may just be in the way our mind has been programmed and it's tough to reprogram the grey matter, fact of life. There are so many brilliant ball strikers in tennis, not just at the elite level but at the Challenger level and even College level yet only a handful of players break through.
You can hit a tennis ball all you like , it may get you to a certain stage with your tennis but chances are it will not take you to a high level of competition. Some players I believe are born with a gift of 'no fear' when playing and a mind that can almost see the game tactically before it even happens. These players have something that the rest of us can only dream of.
What goes into winning a tennis match is far more than a cracking forehand and a huge serve, it's what the mind can deliver in a split second or even less in a series' of decision making.
I don't believe in over coaching players as far as court time is concerned and endless hitting sessions with no substance are pointless. It's what can be instilled into the mind in a session that will ultimately define a player and bring out their best........

No comments:

Post a Comment