By Mark Rearden, West Lake Country Club | July 1, 2019
I was recently considering how debilitating fear can be to a tennis player. I think I can say with reasonable certainty that fear rates the highest on the scale of things that can negatively impact a tennis player’s performance. Keep in mind that I am not making reference to the fear that exists because you didn’t prepare or practice, poor conditioning or just plain absence of talent. Fear as a result of those things makes sense. I am talking about how fear affects how one uses their tools on any given day they step out onto the court. The thing that I find intriguing is that for the most part this fear we experience is relatively unfounded. I think the best way to relate this to you is by giving a few examples.
A good example of how fear can influence our performance is the scenario where we play someone who is one level below us, but a player who can still play us a reasonable match. If for some reason the match gets a little tight and we don’t remain in control, then we start getting a bit anxious about the outcome. We become fearful that we may lose and suddenly we begin changing the way we play. I am not talking about changing a losing game-style that isn’t working. Instead, I am making reference to those times when we get completely out of the framework of what we do well. More important than the fact that we do this is the question why do we do this. What is it that causes us to lose confidence so completely and become so afraid that we abandon what we do well?
Over the years I have seen countless examples in our junior programs where two players who could be of immense help to each other but completely avoid playing because they are both afraid of the outcome. They may play some groundstroke games, but seldom a 2 out of 3 set match that signals a winner and a loser. Both players become more concerned with everyone’s perception of who the best player may be, so much so that they lose sight of grand opportunities for competition right in front of them.
I have to claim my share of the battle with fear as well. In days gone by I often struggled mentally with what people’s perception of me was if I played in a tournament and did not win. I have to be honest and say it affected my performance badly when those fearful thoughts started to creep in. I thought that because I am a tennis pro that everyone expected me to win most of the time and so I projected that unfair burden onto myself.
So what is the common thread here? Obviously, the examples listed have been affected negatively by fear. More importantly though is that each person became afraid as a result of some unrealistic expectation, either their own or from an outside source. First of all, nobody dies when you lose a tennis match. You would probably be surprised how few people actually give it much thought or even care, save your immediate family. Secondly, nobody, not even your biggest fan really expects you to win all the time. Tennis just isn’t an, “I went undefeated,” kind of sport.
So what sort of advice can I offer to help overcome these unfounded fears? Well, you know that I firmly believe sports to be a microcosm of life and visa versa. There are times when we avoid returning a phone call because we fear it may be uncomfortable. We may ask someone else to handle a certain situation at work for the same reason. We may not try something new because of our inability to control the results of taking that chance. We may avoid a potentially fun social occasion because of who may be there. All of these represent opportunities to conquer fearful situations that really don’t impact us significantly regardless of their outcome. We need to practice being bold when the consequences are not so serious. I believe all that we do is just a dress rehearsal for whatever is next. So, you see, it’s all just practice anyway. The sooner you start practicing out there in the real world, the sooner you will do it in your matches and visa versa. Mark my words.