Learning to Play Under Pressure

Joe Dinoffer
USPTA and PTR Master Professional

Pressure is a privilege. Billie Jean King made this expression famous. In fact, she wrote a book with that title in 2008.

Summer tennis leagues and tournaments are in full swing in communities all around the world. If you play competitive tennis, it really doesn’t matter whether you are on stage at a Grand Slam tournament or playing a weekend match with friends at a nearby public court, performance anxiety is a demon we all have to face. It’s as inevitable as death and taxes. As you will soon come to understand, it’s wired into our DNA and part of the fight or flight response.

Here’s what this article WILL NOT DO. We will not try to give you the “sports psychologist” approach to managing pressure. Those resources are valuable, but can be overwhelming unless you practice the recommended mindset each and every day.

Here’s what this article WILL DO. We will share with you two things. First, some digestible and practical things you can do when you feel nervous or experience “performance anxiety.” Second, we will share some practical drills to help you get used to playing under pressure. After all, a large part of learning to deal with pressure is becoming acquainted with it and then growing to appreciate the experience.

Hello Pressure, My Old Friend.

Let me introduce you to a life companion to all of us. Whether you call it stress, anxiety, nerves, pressure, or something different, it’s pretty much all the same. We all know the feeling. Life is full of intermittent anxiety. Think about it. In fact, try this exercise. List 10 “non-tennis” times in your life you have felt nervous? Yes, write them down. Now, try to feel what you felt like when you had those experiences. If you do the exercise properly, you will probably feel about the same way you do when you are nervous on a tennis court. Why? Because the physiological response is the same. The chemicals in your brain that are triggered don’t know the difference between being pulled over for a speeding ticket, singing karaoke for the first time, or playing a third set tiebreaker.

Our bodies are hard-wired to react to stress in ways meant to protect us against threats from predators and other aggressors. While “real” threats are rare today, our bodies react the same from a perceived threat, a noise in the middle of the night or if a police car with flashing lights pulls up behind us (anyone ever get a speeding ticket?).

What's your stress level?

It’s actually the same physiological response as would occur in a life and death situation. The hypothalamus, a tiny region at the base of our brain, sets off an alarm that resonates throughout our entire body. Through a combination of nerve and hormonal signals, this system prompts our adrenal glands to release a surge of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline increases the heart rate, elevates blood pressure and boosts energy supplies. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, increases sugars (glucose) in the bloodstream, enhances the brain's use of glucose and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues. Cortisol also curbs functions that would be nonessential or detrimental in a fight-or-flight situation. It even alters immune system responses and suppresses digestion, reproduction, and growth processes. This complex natural alarm system simultaneously communicates with regions of the brain that control mood, motivation and fear.

Now you know the first issue this article is intended to share; namely, that the nervous feelings we can experience on a tennis court are hard-wired into our system and that the chemical response inside our body is profound. Now let’s move to the second purpose of this article.

Can You Get Used to Pressure?

Thousands of “wannabe” public speakers start with Toastmasters International, a non-profit organization that has helped individuals develop public speaking skills since 1924. What’s one of the main strategies that helps people feel more comfortable speaking to groups? Simple question. Simple answer. Practice.

In this section, we will share some fun practice drills that will help players of any ability rehearse being under match pressure. But don’t be mistaken. These drills are also enjoyable. If you get used to having fun while competing, it will be easier for you to handle pressure like a champ.

Fun Pressure Drill #1: Win Last Point or Back to Love

This match play exercise is incredibly simple yet very effective. Like many of the drills in this section, it works well for both singles and doubles. The rules guide players to experience many pressure points and focus on the importance of winning game points.  It goes like this. Let’s say you and your practice partner are playing a match and the score is 40-15. If the server wins the point it would be game; however, if the server loses that point his/her score goes back to love and the new score is now Love-30.  In this case the server would again serve to the deuce court. Another example would be if the receiver has a breakpoint at 30-40.  In this case, if the receiver does not convert that opportunity, the score changes to 40-0 for the server. This live ball exercise is a great rule adjustment not only for practices but also for social tournaments.

Fun Pressure Drill #2: Focus Games to Three and Five

Several decades ago, no-ad scoring was successfully introduced to shorten match playing time. The first no-ad scoring system limited the number of points per game to a maximum of seven, and for many situations this rule change was a great addition to the sport.  It also had the additional benefit of increasing player focus on game points. This exercise takes this concept one or even two steps further. There are two ways to play. The first variation is to start each game at 30-all and play a regular set. The second variation is to start each game at 15-all and play a regular set. This exercise is a great way to increase awareness and focus of the importance of every single point, while adding more pressure points into the mix.

Fun Pressure Drill #3: Express Tennis

This next game is called "Express Tennis" since the athletes play out regular points and games in a set but whenever one team or player wins two points in a row that game ends.  If two points in a row are not won, then the game is finished using normal scoring. This is a great way to move through a lot of competitive sets in a relatively short period of time in any group situation, while also increasing the importance of each point, which adds pressure to the practice situation.

Fun Pressure Drill #4: Tug of War

This last game is definitely one of my favorites. It helps develop mental toughness and focuses players on winning back-to-back points to gain and maintain momentum. Points are played out with or without serving and the scoring is the only thing that is unique. It goes like this. If players are even in ability, start the score at five. One player tries to make the single score of the court reach ten and the other tries to reach zero. If the player going for ten wins the first point and the court score started at five, the court score simply becomes six.

Handicapping uneven abilities is also easy with this drill. Just start the court score with the weaker player closer to his or her goal. And, like all the drills shared in this article, doubles as well as singles can be played.

Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Joe Dinoffer's article by emailing us here at TennisOne.