The hard-hitting, unpredictable, net-rushing tennis-player is a creature of impulse. There is no real system to his/her game, no comprehension of your game. He will make brilliant coups on the spur of the moment, mostly by instinct; but there is no, mental power of consistent thinking. It is an fascinating type of character.
The really dangerous player is the one who mixes his/her strategy from back to fore court at the command of an ever-active mind. This/her is the player to learn from. He is a player with a definite intention. A player who has an answer to every problem you present him in your game. He is the most subtle antagonist in the world of tennis. He is from the school of Brookes. Second only to him is the player of dogged determination that sets his/her mind on one strategy and adheres to it, bitterly, fiercely battling to the bitter end, with never a thought of changing his gameplan.
He is the player whose psychology is rather easy to understand, but whose mental standpoint is hard 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 intelligence of Brookes more, but I admire the determination of Johnston.
Choose your kind from your own mental processes, and then plan 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 match is the mental viewpoint. Luck, so-called, is usually just seizing the psychological value of a break in the game, and turning it to your own account. We hear a lot about the “shots he has made.” Few understand the importance of the “shots he has missed.”
The science of missing shots is just as important 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 to it, and having reached it, you drive it hard and fast down the side-line, missing it by an inch. Your opponent is shocked and shaken, realizing 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 make an error. You have thus taken some of your opponent’s confidence, and increased his/her chance of error, just because of a miss.
If you had merely popped 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 merely have been winded without result.
Let’s suppose that you made the shot down the sideline. It was a seemingly impossible get. First it amounts to TWO points in that it took one away from your opponent that should have been his/her and gave you one you ought never to have had. Second it also worries your opponent, as he feels that he has thrown away a big chance.
The psychology involved in a tennis match is very interesting, but readily understandable. Both men start with equal opportunities. Once one player establishes a real lead, his/her confidence goes up, while his/her opponent worries, and his/her mental viewpoint becomes poor. The only objective of the first player is to hold his/her lead, thereby maintaining his/her confidence.
If the second player pulls 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 inevitable defeat into a probable victory. The case of the other player is the reverse. He is likely to lose confidence and play worse. The collapse of his game plan will be the result.
If you are a beginner tennis player or are interested in the general psychology of tennis, just go to our website entitled Tennis Tips for Beginners. Free reprint available from: The Psychology of Tennis (Part 2).