This article was written by Ben O in Tasmania. He used to coach Tennis and play quite a lot as a junior.. and while he may not coach anymore, or play regularly, he still followed the sport keenly and has invaluable tips to share. Here is his piece about the value of routine in Tennis.
Hi, my name is Ben
I was a club pro professional coach who played all throughout my teenage years.
While I don’t coach or play much any more, I still am very passionate about tennis and love to share my experiences and things that I feel might be of interest to players or even some fans.
I thought I’d write a little bit about some areas that may not get a lot of attention when it comes to what people train, as there is much more to tennis than just hitting the ball.
I don’t claim to know everything and some of my suggestions may not work for you. But they helped me both in my own playing as well as coaching. And that’s what this site is about, passing on ideas and knowledge to each other.
Routine
Why is it so important
When you think of routines on the tennis court there is normally one player that comes to mind, Rafael Nadal.
He has a very noticeable and particular routine which he does between every point. It has slightly evolved and changed over the years, time between points has decreased, but what is the purpose of such a rigorous and religious routine.
It is all about keeping your emotions balanced and level, even in those extreme pressure situations. (serving for the match, down set point, line call hasn’t gone your way)
You could argue that Nadal is one of the best players under pressure, he keeps the same level head all throughout the match, whether win or lose. This can partially be attributed to his routine.
By having a routine between points you are able to keep yourself in the zone and focus on the next point. Figure out the best tactic or just go into auto pilot and avoid those angry outbursts. (You can’t go throwing your racquet or be yelling obscenities if you’re too busy going through your routine) Because that is the goal of a routine, for it to become second nature as something you just do.
It doesn’t need to be as extreme as Nadals. Lleyton Hewitt was notorious for playing with his strings. This is a great way to fill those second between points and distract your hands. As mentioned above, if you are playing with your strings, you can’t throw your racquet.
What you want to do is find something that works for you, that is comfortable, and that you can incorporate into your game. Which also fits in the time between points.
Some examples could be, walking to the back of the court, tapping the soles of your shoes with your racquet, playing with your strings. Find a way to fill those 20 seconds.
If you can make a routine that lasts between 10-15 seconds then you leave room for your service routine / time to serve. This way you are utilising as much time as possible to recover between points. Eg. from that 30 shot rally you just had and you won’t be giving away the fact you might be dying on the inside.
As tennis is as much a mental game as a physical one. Looking over the net and seeing someone hunched over gasping for air or throwing a tantrum can make you feel like you’ve got the upper hand on them.
While if they see you going about the same routine point after point, regardless of what happened in those points, they will be thinking “how is this person still going! I’m exhausted!”
This doesn’t just apply to those players wanting to play professionally, it can be used at all levels and people don’t even have to know. If you want to have a very discreet and unnoticeable routine go for it. Because at the end of the day that’s what the routine is all about you.