Losing to Tennis Players Who are Worse Than You

Losing to tennis players who are worse than you might happen multiple times in your tennis career. In tennis there are many factors that influence the game. Besides the physical qualities, the mental aspects are also crucial for a victory or a loss.

Most of the times, the reason for loosing against worse players is that you are mentally less stable than your opponent. You might feel pressure because you think you have to win the game which makes your muscles be tense. You fear the loss which makes you more likely to make mistakes.

There are multiple ways of how to improve your mental strength on the court that improves your game and stops you from losing to tennis players who are worse than you.

How mentality can influence the game

There are 5 aspects that you should focus on when playing a game under a lot of pressure:

1. Be happy
   • Being happy and smiling shows your opponent you are not afraid of him/her and that you enjoy the game. Even if you just pretend being happy, the smile can help to release the tension in your body. Also, being aware of your mood and self-reflect is good to pretend working oneself up into a negative emotion.
2. Do not fear to lose
   • The one thing you are never allowed to fear is losing. When you are on the court you should only see the chance of you being able to win, and not you being able to lose. It is part of the positive mindset that helps you with relieving your muscles. There is nothing wrong with losing. Everyone loses, everyone can lose. You should just be inspired and motivated to win, because that is something special.
3. Use your breaks
   • Use your breaks to reflect your game, your thoughts, and your mood. When you change sides between the games, you should calm down and ask yourself what you have been doing, what you want to change, what worked, and how do you want to continue the game. You should try to take a step back and evaluate the game from a different perspective. It makes you being more reasonable.
4. Slow down the game between points
   • Slowing down between points is as important as using your breaks. Between the points, grab a towel, calm yourself down, but do not rush to the next point. Especially when you lost the last point it is important to stay calm and to show your opponent that you are staying calm. If you rush, you are less able to reflect your game and your actions which makes you more likely to become negative. Another side benefit of slowing down between points is that it might confuse or annoy your opponent, too.
5. Only use positive self talk
   • Finally, to keep a positive mindset you have to start talking positive to yourself. Your inner voice is not supposed to bring you down. Use your inner voice, but as a strength and not a weakness. When you start thinking positive and talking positive, you will be less tense and your opponent is going to notice that. Your game will automatically improve.