Nervousness in Competition

I always feel extremely nervous and anxious during tournament play. Sometimes this works to my advantage, but especially in singles, it is detrimental to my game. Any tips on staying relaxed besides reading the Inner Game of Tennis, which Ben Alston may never give back to me?

Smoke lots of grass. Especially right before the match.

Actually, I've been getting into yoga and I find that if I consciously remind myself to focus on my breathing while I'm on the court it helps calm the nerves a lot.

this is not an option for some people.

might i suggest getting laid.



*edit* <3

Well i have many instance where i would find myself very nervous during an important match and i choked in many occasions due to nervousness. In those occasions i find that i usually try to do too much, i focus on the score, what will i look like if i loose this game or that i don't focus on anything. To summarise It's usually me focusing on myself instead of what i want to accomplish

One thing that worked for me in singles especially when all things go wrong, is to focus on one thing only "Get that bag in" no matter what.. Somehow it help me focus on one the thing ; the bag. Once the bag goes in on a regular basis usually offensive opportunity open up.

For doubles i like to focus in advance to where precisely i'm going to bumb or set my partner before the play start, again focusing on where i want to direct the bag for example at serve reception, help me keep my attention to the bag until the last moment.

Prepare yourself mentally before the match even starts. Most of my success was due to the mental preparation I put in before tournaments or prior to big matches. I used a variety of visualization techniques. If you can see yourself being successful and executing prior to the competition, once you're on that court, you've already seen yourself being successful which should help to calm the nerves. Also, constant reminders to yourself that you've done this before and there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to execute the same moves you've practiced before in the heat of battle. Unless, of course, you're getting old and haven't played in 7 years. Then it might be a litlle harder to pull off.

Rereading this small thread, I think Rob Adams is my Hero's advice was spot on. Ironic that he got to play with his hero at this year's installment of the Phoenix Open.

IN OTHER NEWS, I ambecoming less nervous during big matches as I get better and as I face a greater number of high pressure situations. The whole talk yourself down before you play big pressure points or enter into big situations, making sure you tell yourself that you can handle the pressure, that you've done it all before is really important. Most important is that you believe it though.

Another big pressure reliever (for me) is following through with my typical practice routine before engaging in tournament play. When I go through all of the steps I normally go through, I feel my most prepared to bring my A game to the court. When I don't have enough time to warm up one or more skills I know I'm likely going to use during the match, I feel deficient and it definitely affects my play and my mindset. Therefore, by having a warmup that mirrors my typical practice routines at practice, I allow myself the physical movement and the mental clarity to perform at my best. This reduces my nervousness.

At times, when playing Walt and Ben at the US Open 2 years ago with Tuan for example, I remember going back to the beaseine before a serve, and literally shaking from being so nervous. that doesn't happen anymore.

What I still need to work on is my mental toughness BEFORE the match starts . . . teling myself I'm better than my opponent, not second guessing my skills while overestimating the skills of my opponents.