August 1, 2007 
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Seeing your Future David W. Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne
Have you ever noticed that there are some players who seem to win more than their fair share of matches? You know the players; those who seem nonchalant even if they fall behind in a match only to watch their opponent eventually crumble? Among the pros, there are many whom we can associate with this seemingly fearless mind set: Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Chris Evert, Tracy Austin, Monica Seles, Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver just to name a few. Fear is perhaps the most powerful emotion that can affect us on a tennis court. Fear of losing, fear of winning, fear of looking bad, and fear of the unknown can all affect our on-court performance. Most athletes know that they perform at their best when they are loose, focused, and aggressive. Fear can sabotage these three key mental and physical elements and make a person tense, distracted, and apprehensive. Fellow writer and excellent professional, Jeff Greenwald, expressed this concept of fear in his program, “Fearless Tennis”:
How can we take this information and apply it in such a way that we can indeed play “fearless” tennis? Using your own “Crystal Ball" If you owned a magic crystal ball, one that purveyed the future with perfect accuracy, and you gazed into it before any given match, how would you play that match if the crystal ball pronounced you the winner? You know you are going to win. Would you be apprehensive? Would you panic if you fell behind? Would you over-think about winning if you were ahead? The answer I believe would be “NO” to all of these. Why? Because you already knew you were going to win! So why let any emotions control you or your game. You would actually be free to enjoy each point, enjoy the sensation of hitting the ball—not to win or lose—but to create opportunities that are the essence of “Playing Tennis.” And, for anyone who has played tennis for any period of time, there is nothing better than going out and playing a great match (win or lose!) and feel like you played your best tennis ever. We call this level of performance “Playing in the Zone.”
Oftentimes, when we play someone head and shoulders better than us we go out and play some of our best tennis while losing to this far superior player. What allowed us to play well? Most recognize correctly that “we had nothing to lose.” In a real sense, we are playing in the “zone” within our current playing abilities. When we have nothing to lose, we again are not concerned with winning or losing. In a sense, we have seen our crystal ball’s message again: “You’re going to lose!” But, instead of hitting to avoid losing, (which we already know we are); we are hitting to succeed in individual points. No different than playing a match where we know we will win, we are anticipating each point as an opportunity to enjoy, shine, and/or have a great rally. When you play tennis against a player you know you can beat, you seldom press; you often play at a slower, more relaxed pace; if you lose a point, or even a game, there is no panic because you know you are going to win. We need to approach all of our matches with this same mind set Because the alternative seldom produces our best tennis! In watching a lot of junior players, you often see them ride the roller-coaster of emotions: From fist-pumping when they win an important point to racquet-throwing outbursts or tantrums when they start losing. Even in more complacent players, you can read the emotions in their faces: from disinterest to despair, from anxious to annoyed, the eyes are often the window into a player’s mind. What can we expect? Obviously, we can’t expect to win every match. This would be both unrealistic. However, if we keep in our mind we have “already won the match," even if we are way behind, you give yourself at least an opportunity to make a comeback…one that would be nearly impossible should you fall into the more debilitating, emotionally-driven reactions that we often see in competitive tennis. By maintaining a calm, relaxed emotional state, you create the opportunity for success when facing a down-turn in any given match. Your opponent may start to freak out when you demonstrate this calm mind set You simply look at your opponent and say to yourself, “I’ve already won!” What if I’m winning? This mind set helps when you are ahead as well. Too many players get a lead then start to play “not to lose.” The result is they change the very game that got them the lead! When you play as if you already know you’re going to win, you don’t end up getting too excited about winning a particular point, game, or even set! On the contrary, by maintaining a calm, confident attitude, you simply maintain your style and level of play even when you are ahead.
Watch Mr. Federer Roger Federer is a modern day classic practitioner of this mind set Ever notice that he doesn’t let a lot of emotion out during his competitive matches? Does that mean he keeps it all inside? No. There is a difference between maintaining a calm, cool composure, and trying to subdue emotional outbursts. The difference is, when you play as if you know your going to win, there is no build up of emotions. They are essentially non-existent. Yet, with that said, we all know that emotions seem to have a mind of their own. That is why you need to play as if you already know your going to win; because if you do, winning and losing individual points become meaningless to the outcome of the match. Roger Federer seems to express his motion of accomplishment at the conclusion of any match. Borg would do the same. Chris Evert was called the Ice Queen because she seemed to look at you with an icy stare, never afraid to look her opponent in the eye, and her eyes spoke for her: “I am going to win.” Of course we all have different personalities and we need to recognize them and channel the id and ego into productive means. Jimmy Connors was a fiery competitor, but this was his normal level of intensity. As a champion, Jimmy also walked and reacted to adversity and conflict with the trot of a champion-to-be. John McEnroe also had an air about him that seemed to transmit his confidence even though he was prone to outbursts and emotional tirades a time or two! On-Court Tools One of our prolific writers here at TennisOne, Scott Ford, in his series on “Playing in the Zone” employs one of the best practice exercises in terms of playing in the moment. Combining his “Hitting Window” (and his many other teaching tools for better mental tennis), with a pre-match mental state of imagining that you have seen your future, (and it is always a “successful” future!), you can begin to experience this aspect of playing tennis as well as you are capable of without letting outside influences and emotions dictate the outcome of each point. Next time you go to a tournament, watch the competitors and see if you can pick out the players who come ready to win. The next time you play a match see if you too can find a confident mind set, one that is based on the assumption that you already know you’re going to win…and one that will allow you to play your best tennis! (Click link to purchase Dave Smith's Book Tennis Mastery, at tenniswarehouse.com.) As always, we would love to hear from you! Questions, comments, personal experiences all create helpful dialogue for everyone! Please click here to send us your email.
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