The hard-hitting, unpredictable, net-rushing tennis-player is a creature of impulse. There is no real strategy to his/her game, no understanding of your game. He will make brilliant coups at the drop of a hat, mostly by instinct; but there is no, mental power of consistent thinking. It is an interesting type of character.

The really unnerving player is the one who mixes his/her strategy from back to fore court under the direction of an ever-active mind. This/her is the player to study and 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 opponent in the world of tennis. He is of the school of Brookes. Second only to him is the player of dogged determination that sets his/her mind on one plan and sticks to it, bitterly, fiercely battling to the end, with never a thought of change.

This is the player whose psychology is rather simple to understand, but whose mental viewpoint is hard to upset, because he never allows himself to think about anything but the business at hand. This/her player is your Johnston or your Wilding. I respect the mental capacity of Brookes more, but I admire the determination of Johnston.

Pick out your type from your own mental processes, and then plan your game along the lines most suited to you. When two men are on the same level concerning stroke, strength and equipment, the determining factor in any match is the mental standpoint. Luck, as it is called, is usually no more than grasping the psychological value of a change of flow in the game, and turning it to your own account. People talk a lot about the “shots we have made.” But few people realize the importance of the “shots we have missed.”

The psychology of missing shots is just as vital 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 for 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 put off his stride, realizing that your shot could just as well have gone in as out. He will expect you to attempt it again and he will not risk it next time. He will strive to play the ball, and may make an error. You have thus stolen some of your opponent’s confidence, and increased his/her chance of error, just because of a miss.

If you had merely tapped 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 for no reason.

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 upsets your opponent, as he feels that he has thrown away a big chance.

The psychology involved in a game of tennis is very interesting, but readily understood. Both player start with equal opportunities. However, once one player has gained a real lead, his/her confidence rises, while his/her opponent worries, and his/her mental standpoint becomes poor. The sole objective of the first player is to hold his/her lead, thus holding his/her confidence.

If the second player pulls even or draws ahead, the inevitable reaction occurs with an even greater 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 reverse is the case of the other player, who is apt to lose confidence and play worse. The collapse of his game plan soon follows.

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I expect that this, my first dissertation on the fundamentals of tennis, will be found useful by both novices and experts alike in the tennis world. I am striving to arouse interest in the student of the game of tennis by a somewhat prolonged discussion of match play, which I trust will shed a new light on the game of tennis.

I will address the novice in my opening article and speak of certain matters which are second nature to the experienced tennis player. The best tennis equipment is not a lot of use for the beginner even if he really is trying to improve. Nevertheless, one has to purchase good quality; it is a saving eventually, as good quality material far outlasts poor quality equipment.

It is important to always dress in tennis attire when playing tennis. The question of selecting a tennis racquet is a much more serious matter. I do not advocate forcing a certain make of racquet upon any player, since all the standard makes are excellent. However, it is on the weight, balance, and size of handle that the real value of a racquet frame depends, while good stringing is essential to obtain optimum results.

After you have selected your racquet, make a firm resolve to use only good tennis balls, as a regular bounce is a great aid to advancement, while a “dead” ball is no use at all. If you really want to succeed at the game and advance rapidly, I strongly urge you to see all the good tennis you can. Study the play of the leading players and try to copy their strokes. Read all the tennis instruction books you can find. They are a great help.

More tennis can be picked up off the court, in the study of theory, and in watching the best players in action, than can ever be learned in actual play. I do not advise miss opportunities to play tennis. Far from it. Play whenever possible, but strive when playing to put in practice the theories you have read or the strokes you have watched.

Never become discouraged by slow progress. The trick of playing some stroke you have worked on for weeks unsuccessfully, will suddenly come to you when you least expect it. Good tennis players are the product of hard work. Very few players are born geniuses at the game. Tennis is a game that pays you interest all your life. A tennis racquet is a letter of introduction in any town.

The brotherhood of tennis is universal, for none but an athletic sportsman can succeed in the game for any lengthy period of time. Tennis provides relaxation, excitement, exercise, and pure enjoyment to the person who is tied fast to his business until late afternoon.

The order of development that produces the quickest and most lasting results is: a. Concentration on the game. b. Keep the eye on the ball. c. Foot-work and weight-control. d. Strokes. e. Court position. f. Court generalship or match play. g. Tennis psychology.

Concentration. Tennis is played primarily with the mind. The most perfect racquet technique in the world will not be enough if the directing mind is wandering. There are many reasons for a distracted mind in a tennis match. The main one is lack of interest in the game. No one should play tennis with any hope of real success unless he cares enough about the game to be willing to do the spadework necessary to learn the game properly.

Pack it in immediately unless you are willing to work very hard. The weather, conditions of play or the noises in the gallery often confuse even experienced match-players playing in new surroundings. Total concentration on the game is the only cure for an erring mind, and the sooner that lesson is learned the more rapid the improvement of the player.

The best way to keep a match in mind is to play for every set, every game in the set, every point in the game and, finally, every shot in the point. A set is merely a collection of made and missed shots, and the man who misses the least is the ultimate victor.

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Tennis psychology is only understanding the workings of your opponent’s mind and assessing the effect of your own game on his/her head and also understanding the psychological effects resulting from the various external causes on your own head.

However, it is also true that you no one can be a successful psychologist of others without first understanding his own mental processes. Therefore, you must study the effect on yourself of the same thing happening under different circumstances. This is because people react differently in different moods and under different circumstances.

You must realize the effect on your game of the resulting irritation, pleasure, confusion, or whatever other form your reaction is. Does it increase your prowess? If so, strive for it, but never give it to your opponent. Does it deprive you of concentration? If so, either remove the reason, or if that is not possible, try to ignore it.

After you have properly assessed your own reaction to circumstances, observe your opponents to decide their temperaments. Similar characters react in a like manner, and you can judge people of your own type by yourself. Different temperaments you must try to compare with those people, whose reactions you are already familiar with.

A person who can regulate his/her own mental processes has an excellent chance of reading those of another for the mind works along definite lines of thought and can be examined. One can only control one’s own mental processes after carefully studying them.

The regular, unemotional baseline player is rarely a quick thinker. If he were, he would not adhere to the baseline. The physical appearance of a player is usually a fairly clear indicator of his/her kind of mind. The stolid, easy-going player, who normally advocates the baseline game, does it because he does not want to activate up his/her torpid mind to think out a reliably safe method of reaching the net.

However, then there is the other type of baseline player, who would rather stay at the rear of the court while supervising an attack intending to disrupt up your game. He is a much more dangerous player and a deep, quick thinking antagonist. He obtains his/her results by mixing up his/her length and direction and worrying you with the variety of his/her game. This player is a very good psychologist.

The first kind of tennis player mentioned above merely strikes the ball without much thought about what he is actually up to, while the latter always has a solid, thought-out strategy and sticks to it.

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