Rituals and Relaxation as a Means to Improving Results

June 4, 2014 | By Carl Thorsen
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In order for an athlete to compete at their very best in competitive tennis, the development of rituals is critical. Rituals are routines that athletes use to prepare for and process competition. Since the pros do their pre-match preparations “off camera,” we don’t always see what rituals they have before or after their matches. But, we do see what goes on during the match and in between points. Let’s analyze this piece of competition.

The average tennis point is five to eight seconds, after which, you have around 25 seconds to process that point, relax and prepare for the next point. This means that the majority of time on the court is spent in between points, making it just as important, if not more important, than how well you hit the ball during the point.

In order to truly improve your between point rituals, a great deal of work needs to be done off the court. As a coach, I have found that most people are not willing to put the time in to improving these areas. Let’s break it down like this: Being able to relax is a specific skill within your “between point ritual,” just like working on your forehand is a specific skill within your skill of “being able to play an entire point.” Practice in exercises like yoga, Tai Chi and meditation can go a very long way toward getting the body to efficiently relax. In an everyday setting, one deep breath might get you to relax, but most often, it won’t do the trick at 6-6 in a third set tie-breaker. The more often you do it, the more likely you are to be able to do it in any situation.

As a competitor, I worked hard on my game to improve as quickly as I could. My game steadily rose, but like most players, the majority of my training was on the court. Around the same time I realized I needed to find a way to get an edge on everyone else, I saw an advertisement for a martial arts studio that offered Tai Chi classes. I remembered reading about its benefits in The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Galaway, and I got started right away. After six months of really committing to Tai Chi, and ultimately yoga and meditation, my game didn’t only steadily rise, but began to take noticeably bigger jumps. The awareness I was gaining of myself and my game was unlocking a better competitor!

Now why is this important and how does it apply to between point rituals? My ability to relax was improving, and clearly making me more capable of enjoying the challenges faced on court. I reacted to points in a more positive manner, which helped me learn from what had happened during that point, and learn more about my opponent instead of judging myself. Because of this understanding and its benefits, I also began practicing my routines more on court. For example, I realized that the serve actually starts 10 seconds before I hit the ball, and involves thinking about patterns I wanted to use to start the point with, as well as breathing patterns.

Ultimately, rituals are the glue that holds your entire game together. We often don’t realize how many stresses, distractions, desires and inhibitions we are fighting while we are on the court … forces that pull us in different directions, and ultimately, hold our games back. To combat this, we need to develop habits that keep us grounded as often as possible. Solid and well-developed rituals are proven to make a huge difference.


Carl Thorsen
Centercourt
USTA NTC

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