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.