Most players know the factors that adversely affect them before tournaments: you don’t want to be out in the sun too much, you want to make sure you get enough sleep but not too much, you want to eat the right foods (it’s not a great time to start experimenting with food), you want to go through your normal physical and mental routines and you don’t want to make any major changes to your game.

Nervousness affects concentration

Mentally there are many factors that can affect a player’s concentration on the day of a match. Concentration is on a continuum. There are highly nervous players, players with low-level of nerves and everything in between. Each of these types of player is affected differently by nerves, necessitating a different coping mechanism for dealing with nerves so that they are able to concentrate on the task at hand. Players need strategies to help them concentrate before the match.

What are your level of nerves before a match

As a tennis player it’s important to be aware of just how nervous you are before a match. On a scale from 1-10 determine where your nerves are before a match; 1 – not a nerve in site & 10 – feeling totally out of control. This is an important exercise because you DON’T want to be a 10 because that will adversely affect you but you certainly don’t want to be a 1 either. A 1 might mean that you aren’t psyched up enough to play your match.

Highly nervous players

Just before playing a match highly nervous players (8, 9, 10) want to get their minds off the match. This kind of distraction can be found by chatting with friends or family members, through calming music, meditation or muscle relaxation. These players need distraction, familiarity, routine and a calming influences.

Not enough nerves

Players who don’t not enough nerves (1, 2, 3) most likely choose to react very differently just prior to the match. These players need something to get them psyched. This might include some good music, a physical warm-up, cue words, or an energizing piece of imagery.

The right amount of nervousness

Players with just the right amount of nervousness (4, 5, 6) find that the best preparation for a match is time spent alone going through the same, pre-performance routine every time.

Internal distractions

There are numerous distractions before a match. Mainly the ones that cause nervousness and anxiety are internal distractions. These are the things that you are saying to yourself. The concern is with your negative thoughts. It is your negative thoughts: there is no way I can win today, I can’t do this, and I’m never going to be able get my second serve in and also include should have’s and what ifs. These increase anxiety to the point of sometimes not being able to play at all.

Pre-performance routine

A pre-performance routine helps prepare an athlete for competition by helping the athlete concentrate on the match. It can include any number of things: imagery (which may include strategy, opponent, court), positive self talk, deep breathing, muscle relaxation, etc. What’s included in a pre-performance routine is dependent on what is going to work for the individual and the individuals level of anxiety. Pre-performance routines should be positive and fairly systematic.

Concentration is really all or nothing. For example, if you are focused on what can’t do before you even start how do you expect to play well or win.  And by being focused on what you can’t do, you are not focused on your game and what you can do!