Anyone play in tennis leagues before? I'm in one now, and our team's first match is today. I love playing tennis, but don't have much experience in competitive organized tennis. I've taken lessons, and play pretty regularly. The one thing I noticed when playing in some drop in tournaments is that my level drops in matches vs. practice and hitting ground strokes more than any other sport. I've had to adjust my game. When I just played with the wife or a friend, I had always been pretty aggressive and offensive minded, but for some reason playing in organized matches, I would either make way too many errors from being overly aggressive, and then trying to second guess myself and short arming or holding back and not taking regular strokes to just try and keep the ball in play. Since then I've become almost entirely defensive. My defense in tennis is one of my strengths, but sometimes I'll lose to a guy that I have more skill than, because I feel I'm just playing defense and hoping they make the mistake. I'm trying to put some of the offense and aggressiveness back into my game to find the balance, but not with total success. Anyone else ever played in leagues? Did you notice the dramatic drop off between your strokes in practice and games? Does anyone have any advice?
It's pretty standard for most people to feel pressure and play different than practice. I did that (and still fall into that trap sometimes), but what I try to do is remind myself if I get a clean look from 3/4th court or earlier, I have to rush the net no matter what. It keeps you on an aggressive play to win mindset rather than not to lose. YOU HEAR THAT KUBIAK, FOLLOW THAT RULE PLZ TOMORROW.
I have been playing in leagues for 25 years. It's fun. I am 41 and still play with the youngsters, not in any senior competition. I was obviously much better 20 years ago, but I still enjoy it - both the playing itself and the camaraderie/team aspect of it.
grew up playing youth leagues and JV tennis in HS. I picked it up after a 10 year hiatus and am glad to have it as a part of my life again. today, I just got back from the 2012 SoCal League Sectionals Doubles Tournament, culminating our Fall USTA season. My team went 9-0 in the season and advanced to the "playoffs" this morning, my partner and I took the Line 2 victory 6-3, 6-1, and Line 3 for our team got the win. Line 1 lost but our team got the win and was looking good. we played again at noon and my partner and I won 6-3, 6-0. in the second set, we came back down from 0-40 at least twice and had a few 0-30 comebacks as well. we were playing inspired and intense tennis at the 3.5 level. I was serving at 5-0 to close it out and we got the win. Unfortunately Line 1 lost after having match point in the third set tiebreaker and our whole team sat and watched Line 3 lose their 3rd set tiebreaker after also winning the first set. now I am sitting here tracking the scores online. in order to advance to the Finals tomorrow- we need the team we beat in the morning to beat the team that beat us in the afternoon. they need a 2-1 team win specifically, and even the amount of games won and lost within the sets will play into factor here. frustrating to have to watch your undefeated team go down like that and then go scoreboard watching. I also play in a singles flex league as part of a nationwide network, www.tennisleaguenetwork.com right now they only have an Austin based league, no other Texas cities. I've been playing in the LA league and have compiled a 134-102 record since 2007. I highly recommend it! FB- as soon as a match begins it is natural to tense up because the stakes are high. as you know, much of tennis is a mental game and I'm sure you've been on both sides of an epic collapse or comeback. sometimes it's all about momentum and putting your foot on your opponents neck the moment they start to get into their head. what level are you playing at- 3.0 or 3.5? what's the league format? is it a USTA league where you field singles and doubles competition?
when you play for "fun" bad habits creep in...you'll acclimate soon enough. My older brother's first competitive tennis season required an adjustment...his game was passive due to the routine of playing to extend rallies during our daily hitting sessions. You'll never go for it playing your wife or little bro., maybe occasionally but most of your shots will be generous in nature. I had the opposite problem, could only play at maximum tempo...esay death against a patient & consistent opponent.
I don't know what level you're playing at, but if you're just now getting into competitive tennis honestly being consistent counts. I know a lot of people here are suggesting being aggressive, but IMO placing your shots well and keeping your groundstrokes going will win you a lot more points than going for the glorious winner.
Sounds like an exciting match. It's a USTA league. We lost today. Two Doubles matches and a Singles match. We lost the first set in tie break that went to 8 points. We fought back after being down 5-2 to force the tie break, but lost it in the end. The second set we lost 6-3, even though we made fewer errors, and they were more tired out than we were. I'm not sure exactly how we lost, except that my partner and I just took turns being error prone instead of both being on at the same time. Our other doubles team won, but our singles guy lost in three sets. We have a make up match tomorrow morning so I have another shot at it. I'm 3.0 but the league didn't have any men's 3.0 so we're playing in a 3.5 league. Most of our team is 3.0 but we do have some legitimate 3.5 guys out there too. It's cool that you are getting back into tennis. It's a blast. I love playing, and the mental game is a huge reason why I love it. Tons of fun. Good luck having the cards fall in the right place so that you can make it to the finals.
Thanks a lot. I will say that my wife has played a lot of competitive tennis, and she generally has better strokes than I do. If I win against her, it's because I have an advantage in mobility, and since I started playing in this league, I get more practice than her.
I played in high school but basically gave up tennis after moving to Houston over 25 years ago. Like already stated, tensing up during a match is natural because every shot counts. As you compete more, the "choke" factor will gradually go down because you will feel less pressure on each and every shot. The bottom line is how much you enjoy competitive tennis vs casual tennis. The competitive aspect can be addicting for some while others get tired of the pressure.
unbelievable. we got a late call from the captain who stayed at the tennis center all night to watch the night matches. the team we needed to win got a 2-1 win with close, three set matches to give our team the best record among the three and a chance to keep fighting today. we had the fewest amount of sets lost (6 to 7 to 9) and the lowest amount of games lost (50 to 64 to 65). had me and my partner lost at least one set yesterday, things might be different. my teammates were so bummed that they lost, but I think it's up to me to try and inspire them. it is clear that they choked under pressure but had the skills to get the win. today they will have to put it all together and go all in. we have to play some monster competition from Orange County
FranchiseBlade, You're talking about practice. p r a c ti c e When you say you play better in practice, are talking just hitting the ball around or playing sets? What I recommend is always play sets, whether practice or not. Besides, it is the only real way to "practice" serving and volleying.
I played 3 years varsity tennis in hs and intramurals in college. My level is around 4.5 on the USTA scale. From my experience, competitive tennis is a whole new game compared to hitting casually. I think the tensing up is normal if you're not use to it. It's an extremely mental and physical game that can only be perfected through practice, flow, and routine. Once you become comfortable does the game become really enjoyable to play. Don't forget to bend your knees, follow through, and move your feet.
Cross court, cross court, short approach down the line, volley. volley, over head repeat. Main thing I would recommend to get over match pressure is to envision yourself doing drills. I was a finesse player through high school and I would just imagine I was doing drills and not worry about the opponent. If I knew the opponent was more talented than me, I would find a shot he wasn't comfortable with and exploit it.
Ha that was 70% of my game. My idea was if you can hit harder than me you better be ready to run your ass off.
our team lost both matches today in the sectional Championship round. it was a round robin with the final three teams remaining from yesterday. vs Orange County, my partner and I battled back to win our morning match 6-4, 7-5 after being down 0-3 in the first and 0-3 and 1-4 in the second. the other two lines lost for a 1-2 team loss. Orange County went on to beat the second team and locked up 1st Place. in the afternoon match which was for 2nd place, my partner and I faced our first true test and suffered our first loss of the season, 6-2, 6-2 and our team got swept. we placed 3rd out of 10 teams in the Sectionals, representing 56 teams across Southern California in the fall Doubles League. not bad at all and nothing to be ashamed of. the competition got better and better but almost every player on the 1st and 2nd place team got ranked up by the USTA since January 1st. this means they are 4.0 players sandbagging in the 3.5 league for as long as they could before they were bumped up.
Congrats on the tournament, and it sounds like you gave the OC team a real run for their money. Our sectionals will be next week in Long Beach. I've heard about the sandbagging going on before. I guess that's how people milk the system.
