Tennis is a sport for the intelligent. The smarter you are, the better a player you will be. The reason for this is simple … the smart player has the chance to read the opponent’s weaknesses during warm-up and during the first part of a match. Maybe their backhand is weak or maybe they are not as fit as they could be.
The smart tennis player will be able to read the opposition’s weaknesses and then proceed to exploit these weaknesses during the match. A player who is not fit should be forced to run all match long. A player with a weak backhand should be forced to hit backhands. Strategy is a key to great tennis. I have noticed that a player will often know what their opponent’s weakness is, exploit it once or twice, and then give up on this strategy. This is usually a big mistake.
The exploitation may take some time to have an effect, but sooner or later, this strategy will work for you. So, your job is to discern your opponent’s weakness during the beginning of the match, develop a strategy to exploit it and patiently stick to the game plan. Do this and you will be winning more matches, I guarantee it.
Dr. Tom Ferraro
Sport Psychologist
Dr. Tom Ferraro is a pioneer in the field of depth sport psychology and his work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The London Times. He has appeared on all the major television networks and his books, are published by Routledge and can be found through Amazon and a variety of other major book distributors. He can be reached at drtferraro@aol.com.Â
