Playing practice matches is one of the most underutilized areas in junior tennis. The majority of academies don’t have their kids play sets or matches at practice.  They may play doubles but they don’t have enough courts for extensive singles play. 

This means that the responsibility of finding practice matches has fallen on to the shoulders of players and parents. If you have to skip a clinic to do so then do it. It’s important to prepare the physical and mental skill sets required to compete in a tournament.  Playing champion of the court doesn’t fully prepare a player. 

Professionals spend 50-80% of their practices leading into a tournament playing straight up match play. If you’re not playing even one practice match then how do you expect to play well in the tournament?

Dealing With Line Calls

This is a massive issue in junior and college tennis. A lot of players receive bad line calls, lose the next few points and eventually the match. Players, coaches and parents already know to get a referee but remembering the following things can limit the stress of these situations.

First, not all kids who make bad line calls do it on purpose. Junior players are still training their eyes to follow a ball properly. Tracking a ball is not easy so they’re prone to seeing things wrong. I’ve worked with a lot of juniors who sometimes think a ball bounced 3 feet or more away from the actual spot. They have so much going on in their mind that they can’t track the ball properly.

Also, nerves come into play during matches. A kid who’s nervous is at risk of making any kind of mistake, such as calling a ball on the far line. They really do believe it was out and it’s just an honest mistake. The more important the point, the more nervous they are. Therefore the more likely they are of making the wrong call so cut them some slack.

Other kids knowingly make bad line calls. They do it because they feel an immense amount of pressure to win. Their perspective on what’s truly important is skewed. It might be coming from the coach, the parent, or themselves. They feel so much pressure to win that they’re truly suffering when they lose a point. They’re not having any fun and winning just brings relief, not happiness.

Remembering these points removes some of the anger during bad line call situations, making it easier to stay calm and focus on the next point.

Academy Balls vs Tournament Balls

Most tennis academies change out balls every 3-6 months due to the expense. For the recreational player this isn’t a big deal. For the tournament player, this is a tremendous deal. The older the balls get the less they bounce and the slower they move through the air. If you haven’t played with new balls all week, let alone 3-6 months, you’ll feel like you’re playing with pellets during the first few games of your tournament.

A bad start to a match can be detrimental.  It brings negative thoughts and a drop of confidence. Before you know it you’re asking what time you play your consolation match. 

To prevent this from happening, get some cans of new balls a few days before your first match. Ask a friend to play a practice match.  This way the start to your match won’t feel so much faster than normal. **Remember to get the same balls the tournament will use as mentioned in Part 1!**

Weather

Weather begins to play a major role as you move up in age divisions. It’s not a coincidence Nadal’s winning streak at the French open ended to Robin Soderling. It was an extremely damp and cloudy day therefore conditions were slow. This caused Nadal’s usual high bouncing spinny shots to now bounce in Soderling’s strike zone. Soderling consistently swung for the fences and took down the greatest clay court player ever.

Cold weather makes the ball bounce lower and move slower through the air. It also makes your racket and strings feel stiff.

Hot weather makes the ball bounce higher and move faster through the air. It also makes your racket and strings feel more powerful.

There’s no exact science but generally you’re looking to adjust your string tension if there’s a change in temperature of 8 degrees Fahrenheit or more. At that point you’re looking to adjust your tension between 2-4 lbs. If you’re uncertain about what tension to play with, start with your normal tension and have an extra racket or two at a different tension in case you want to switch in the middle of the match. If you wait to get a racket strung in the middle of the match it might get strung too late and the match will be over.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Pay attention to the small details and give yourself the best chance to succeed.