Tennis psychology is the same as understanding the make-up of your opponent’s mind and gauging the effect of your own game on his/her head and also understanding the psychological effects resulting from the various external causes on your own mind.
However, it is true that you cannot be a successful psychologist of others without first understanding your own mental processes. Therefore, you must study the effect on yourself of the same thing happening under different circumstances. This is because people react differently in different moods and under different circumstances.
You must realize the effect on your game of the resulting irritation, pleasure, confusion, or whatever other form your reaction is. Does it increase your prowess? If so, strive for it, but never give it to your opponent. Does it deprive you of concentration? If so, either remove the cause, or if that is not possible, try to ignore it.
Once you have correctly assessed your own reaction to conditions, observe your opponents in order to decide their characters. Similar temperaments react similarly, and you may judge men of your own sort by yourself. Opposite temperaments you have to seek to compare with those whose reactions you already know.
A person who can control his/her own mental processes stands an excellent chance of reading those of someone else for the mind works along certain lines of thought and can be examined. One can only control one’s own mental processes after carefully studying them.
A steady, phlegmatic baseline player is seldom a quick thinker. If he was he would not adhere to the baseline. The physical appearance of a player is usually a pretty clear indication of his/her type of mind. The stolid, easy-going player, who usually advocates the baseline game, does so because he hates to stir up his/her torpid mind to work out a safe strategy of getting to the net.
However, then there is the other kind of baseline player, who would prefer to remain at the rear of the court while supervising an attack intended to break up your game. He is a very dangerous player and a deep, keen thinking opponent. He achieves his/her results by changing his/her length and direction and worrying you with the variety of his/her game. This player is a very good psychologist.
The first kind of tennis player mentioned above simply hits the ball without much idea of what he is really up to, while the latter always has a solid, thought-out strategy and sticks to it.
If you are a beginner tennis player or are interested in the general psychology of tennis, please visit our site entitled Tennis Tips for Beginners
