The hard-hitting, erratic, net-rushing tennis-player is a person of impulse. There is no real system to his/her attack, no comprehension of your game-plan. He will make brilliant rallies at the drop of a hat, mostly by instinct; but there is no, no consistent thinking. It is an fascinating type of character.

The most dangerous player is the one who mixes his/her style from back to fore court under the command of an ever-active mind. This/her is the player to study. He is a player with a definite purpose. 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 slavish determination that sets his/her mind on one plan and sticks to it, bitterly, fiercely fighting to the bitter end, with no thought of changing his gameplan.

He is the player whose psychology is rather easy to work out, but whose mental viewpoint is difficult to derail, for he never allows himself to think of anything except 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.

Choose your sort from your own mental pattern, and then work out your game along the lines most suited to you. When two men are in the same class as regards stroke and equipment, the determining factor in any given match is the mental viewpoint. Luck, so-called, is often seizing the psychological value of a break in the game, and turning it to your own account. We hear a lot about the “shots players have made.” Few understand the importance of the “shots players 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 tell you why. 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 surprised and put off his stride, knowing 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 attempt to play the ball, and may fall into 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 just popped back that ball, and it had been killed, your opponent would have felt even more 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 had succeeded with that shot down the sideline. It was a seemingly impossible achievement. First it amounts to TWO points, in that it stole one away from your opponent that should have been his/her and gave you one that you should never have had. Second it also upsets your opponent, because he feels that he has thrown away a big opportunity.

The psychology involved in a tennis match is fascinating, but easily understandable. Both men begin with equal chances. 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 holding his/her confidence.

If the second player draws even or pulls 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.

If you are into the psychology of tennis, you ought to visit our website entitled Tennis Tips for Beginners Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory