
Set goals
For some, taking tennis lessons relaxes them, for others it makes them work physically and keeps them in shape. Some players enjoy the technical aspect of learning tennis, while others prefer the tactical and competitive aspect of the sport. For this last group that aspires to play recreational, competitive or tournament matches, it becomes very important to be able to transfer what has been learned from training into real matches. To do this, different strategies exist and I will explain to you some of the keys to a successful transition.
As a tennis coach, I get a lot of feedback from my students about how hard it is to transfer what you learn in practice into real, more competitive matches. This difficulty is very real and is even felt at the professional level. Just think of some high-profile matches in which even the best players in the world buckle under pressure, such as double faulting at a crucial point in a match. This same player could succeed in his second serve in training with his eyes closed hundreds of consecutive times, but the stakes are not the same!
This is why it will be necessary, for a student who aspires to play matches and tournaments, to make the training resemble the real match as much as possible. This will be done gradually by ensuring that the technical bases are well acquired and that the reflection in relation to these are less and less present in the match to leave more room for the tactical and strategic aspects, which are more important for the game. obtaining a good result. It is therefore very important in a match not to dwell too much on the technical components of our game but rather on the strategy to be used against this or that opponent. How to attack my opponent, what are his weaknesses, understand what style of play he advocates in order to counter him. In tennis, as in many sports, you must always try to play your strengths against the weaknesses of your opponent. You still have to know your own strengths and try to discover the weaknesses of your opponent as quickly as possible in the match. Take a few moments to list your strengths and weaknesses and then ask a rival player or coach to validate your impressions…you may be surprised at their response! Otherwise, you know your game well and can use this information wisely during your matches!

Warm up, concentrate, compete, but above all have fun!
The pre-match warm-up is definitely the big overlook when it comes to tennis performance. It is so important to be active so as not to be injured during a match but also to have sensations before the start of the game to have a certain confidence from the start. A little running, jumping rope, moving fast, stepping, etc. Then if it is possible to hit balls for about thirty minutes before the start of the match it will be very beneficial. Get moving as much as you can before the game to make your body feel really ready when the game starts. It is also necessary to try to relax as much as possible, some will opt to listen to music in headphones, others will do a little stretching or meditation, whatever the way, it is necessary to find a place of mental calm before the start. competition!
Then it is obvious that concentration is a major component of match performance. One cannot execute properly without concentration. Visualize what you want to do during the game, for example: I want to hit my opponent's backhand as much as possible because it represents a weakness in his game, or I want to rally as long as possible with the opponent at the start because he is a (pure) attacker who tends to rush the game and make mistakes. Ideally, you have to find ways to stay focused on the things to do. Some will like to play with their strings to refocus, others will walk behind the baseline thinking about things to do. Whatever the strategy, take your time and keep the focus on simple and important things for the smooth running of your match.

Competition necessarily involves effort and work, for better and for worse! One thing is certain, as long as we compete well, that is to say, we give our all on every ball, we take the last step to get into a good position, we extend the racket to touch to a ball that seems impossible to play, that we work tirelessly to do the maximum with each ball, we give ourselves a serious option on the match against a player of his caliber and even a little stronger! This is true for the recreational players that we are but also for the professionals who have to fight every day with very good opponents, talented and very trained. But who will be willing to give the extra effort to win. That's part of the fun in my opinion!
It is not realistic to think that at a recreational level of play of 2.0 to 4.0, that we will perform as well in games as in training. We must therefore try to minimize the gap between performance in training and in matches. Many players do a lot of good things in practice but fail to transfer that to the game. They may be playing at 50, 60, or 70 percent capacity in a game with a stake. This is both mentally and morally difficult! It is therefore important to take tennis for what it is, that is to say a game! Do not put too much pressure on yourself and keep in mind why we practice this sport. Even professionals often say it, without pleasure there is no performance!
If we look at the statistics of professional matches, we realize quite quickly that the gap between winning shots and unforced errors is very large. For example, a Federer in great shape could hit 40 winning shots vs 15 unprovoked errors (fouls committed without being under pressure, therefore shots that should have been made) in his match and it will be a great day. More standardly, winning shots and unforced errors are often at the same level, for example 25 winning shots vs 25 unprovoked errors. This remains a good game. But more often than not players find themselves hitting more unforced errors than winners in a match and can still claim victory that we create in the opponent by putting pressure on him).
So as a recreational player, can we expect to produce more winning shots than unprovoked errors during a game? This is very very unlikely. It would therefore be interesting to dwell on the fact that recreational matches, even at a level of play of 4.0, are won by eliminating unprovoked errors rather than by trying to produce winning shots repeatedly. This means playing smart and playing within your means! I understand very well as a player that hitting a winning shot is an extraordinary feeling that we want to feel as often as possible, but is it realistic to think that we can do it repeatedly in a match with a stake? The answer is clearly no! If even the pros who tear themselves away from training 4-5 hours a day have difficulty having a positive ratio of winning shots vs. unprovoked errors, imagine the recreational player who trains 3 hours a week!
It is therefore necessary to give yourself realistic objectives, targets in the field that are bigger and try to keep the ball in the field one more shot than your opponent! By significantly reducing unprovoked errors, we always give ourselves a chance to win. By trying shots you don't have to finish the point as a winner, you give yourself a good chance of losing... the choice is yours!

How to train to perform in matches
As I mentioned before, we need to have practices that look more and more like real game situations. Training game patterns that will serve us later will be very beneficial. For example, work on the beginning of a cross stitch with the forehand and then try to change the direction in parallel when the moment is right; practice an outgoing serve to open up the court and when successful, attack into the opening. All kinds of game patterns can be trained and can then be executed in real matches in a more natural way without too much technical thinking, which will help us perform better and better.
We can therefore use a progression in the difficulty and intensity of the game patterns that we are going to train. You can start with your training partner or with your coach by engaging a ball without service or return of service, and play the point in this way, without too much pressure. For example, start an exchange in the center of the court for four balls and on the fifth strike, the player will have the right to start moving his partner and we will then play the point. You can also start a backhand to backhand exchange for three or four balls and then trigger the point for real. You can then redo the same exercises but giving yourself a score to achieve, for example a game of 7 or 10 points. This will allow you to feel how real complete points are going so that you have an idea of things to improve but also things that you know how to execute well during the game.
The next step could be to add the service and return of service in the game. It can also be done in games that look like tiebreakers, i.e. games of 7 or 10 points . This will avoid having to manage the score of a real full set of tennis which often causes players to overplay the score which has detrimental effects on performance. It should be mentioned at this point that any player who aspires to play matches and who wishes to improve and win, must invariably put a lot of time into the practice of the service but also the return of service. This last shot is certainly under-trained and wrongly so because it is of paramount importance to perform well.
When we start to feel that our play in small games of 7 to 10 points is starting to be interesting and to resemble our play in practice, we can start to transfer to real full sets of 6 games, and then play entire matches of the best? of 3 rounds. Never hesitate to go back to the tiebreaker formula if you are not satisfied with your game, it will take some pressure off and help you to continue to perform better gradually.
You can also use certain techniques in training to mimic the pressure you will feel during a real game:
- The server is only entitled to one service. He will have to be consistent and put a lot of serves into play while practicing his 2It is ball. The returner can then practice being consistent but aggressive in returning 2It is service ball.
- The server starts each game at 0-30. Once again under pressure, this one will have to go up the slope with his service if he aspires to win the game. The returner will learn to win the service break by putting pressure on the server. We can also do the opposite and give the server a 30-0 lead to see if he can hold on well and win his game on the serve. The returner will then have the choice of being aggressive to bring the score back to 30-30 or playing it safe and raising to test the server's ability to win the game.
- All shots that hit the net will give the opponent 2 points. Players will learn under pressure to give height to their shots so as not to make unforced errors at the net. They will therefore have to put more brushed effect and thus keep the necessary leeway to win the point.
- The player who makes his opponent make a mistake with a foul by putting pressure on him and making him move will get 2 points, while the one who makes the unforced error will lose 2 points.
- All of these situations will force you to find solutions to win your games with an added element of stress that will prepare you to score real points in real games.

How to manage your match:
In tennis as in the rest of life, you always have to look where you want to go and not where you don't want to go! For example, if we have just produced two consecutive double faults, we will have to stop thinking about not putting the ball in the net, but think (to) think about where we will attack the opponent with the next service. If it has been two times that we put the ball too far outside the field, we will have to think about accelerating in the ball and putting the spin on the ball instead of constantly thinking about the fear of hitting too hard and thus retaining his shot and have even more difficulty keeping the ball in play! Always look where you want to go! Have clear intentions and keep the game simple.
It is also very important to play to win and not play not to lose! There are many examples to illustrate what this means. How many times do we find ourselves in a strong position in a rally, shoving our opponent, finally receiving a short ball and then knocking it out of bounds when our opponent is not even in the game anymore? Playing to win means hitting the last ball to win the point with as much intensity and determination as the previous shots. Do not hope for the ball to fall into play but accelerate with conviction to put it into play and not “push” it into the field.
It would also be interesting at some level to try to define his style of play. Am I a striker who has big shots and can dictate play at will? Then I can agree to make more unforced errors because my winning shots will be more numerous. Am I a raiser who brings it all in but doesn't have a lot of power? So minimizing unprovoked errors will be a good strategy.
This knowledge of my style of play will allow me to define a clearer game plan to apply and avoid getting lost in exchanges where my intentions are not clear.
That being said, I remind you of the importance of having fun and keeping in mind that there will always be more defeats than victories. What matters is the ability to learn from mistakes and defeats to always improve!
Good game!