Tennis
Psychology (Part
1)
by Gail Jones
Tennis psychology is nothing more than understanding the
make-up of your opponent's mind and gauging the effect of your
own strategy on his/her head and also understanding the mental
effects resulting from the different external causes on your
own mind.
However, it is true that you cannot be a successful
psychologist of others without first understanding your 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 ensuing
annoyance, joy, confusion, or whatever other form your reaction
is. Does it improve your efficiency? If so, try for it, but
never offer it to your opponent. Does it rob you of
concentration? If so, either remove the reason, or if that is
not possible, strive to ignore it. (article continues
below)
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Once you have correctly assessed your own reaction to
circumstances, study your opponents in order to decide their
temperaments. Like temperaments react similarly, and you can
judge men of your own kind by yourself. Opposite characters you
have to seek to liken with those whose reactions you already
know.
A person who can regulate his/her own
psychology runs an excellent chance of determining those of
someone else for the minds works along certain lines of thought
and can be studied. One may only regulate one's own thought
processes after examining them meticulously.
A steady, phlegmatic baseline player is seldom a quick
thinker. If he were he would not adhere to the baseline. The
physical appearance of a player is often a pretty clear
indication of his/her type of mind. The stolid, easy-going
player, who usually advocates the baseline game, does so
because he hates to stir up his/her torpid mind to work out a
safe method of reaching the net.
Then there is the other kind of baseline player, who would
rather remain on the back of the court while directing an
attack intended to disrupt up your game. He is a much more
dangerous player, and a deep, keen thinking opponent. He
achieves his/her results by mixing up his/her length and
direction and worrying you with the variety of his/her game. He
is a good psychologist.
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