JAK'S MONTHLY ESSAY SERIES: Achieving Your Personal Best
Rally Ball Or Pull The Trigger
It's important to not be overly ambitious when you don't have an inviting ball to hit, one that's right there in your strike zone and you "green light" it. If it's not, chill…it's just a "rally ball." It's okay to just play with them – wait for a better opportunity to be offensive - versus trying to win the point prematurely.
Too many players, at their 3rd- 4th- 5th ball, in neutral exchanges from the back of the court, panic and become impatient. They then go for too much too soon, since, in their minds, they haven't won the point yet, so they feel motivated to do something special. They then proceed to hand over the point unnecessarily in an unforced error. Happy Holidays.
Doing nothing special can actually be something very special. Realistic expectations anyone?
When Roger Federer unexpectedly won the 2017 AO Australian Open, in his first tournament back after being off the tour for 6 months, he attributed the victory to low expectations - playing very relaxed with nothing to lose and little performance pressure. He had hoped to just win a couple of rounds at best.
Mind-set is important. Having the right one is even more important. You're actually winning when involved in an extended back court rally. You are not losing! Repeatedly giving your opponent one more chance to make an error is not a bad strategy at times…since they often will.
What's the hurry? There's no "point clock" in tennis requiring that a point end quickly to avoid being penalized or timed out – no such thing. Be comfortable in putting the onus on the opponent(s) so that they become impatient, blink first and suddenly try to win the point outright with one spectacular shot, versus be willing to hit as many balls as it takes to succeed.
Remember, the vast majority of club doubles matches are lost, not won. Make opponents play. Heck, let them play. Play within your capabilities, and perform those as well as you can.
The chips fall where they may. It's all about your performance.
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