How To Earn The Win

posted on: June 24, 2022
author: Brian Lomax, Ed.D.

Note: This is a follow up to a recent post on How Not To Lose. If you haven’t read that post, go ahead and do so prior to reading about how to earn the win.

In my previous post on How Not To Lose, you learned what to do in the face of overwhelming pressure or stress on the tennis court. A player’s reaction to pressure is what often causes mental and physical mistakes, and subsequently gives the match away. But you are no longer going to give away matches. You are going to be extremely difficult to defeat. Now, it’s time to learn “how to earn the win.” This is the next level of competitive excellence.

Know What to Win

In order to earn the win, you have to know what it is you are trying to win. In tennis, that can be confusing. The scoring system has multiple levels: points, games, and sets. All three of these are related, and in certain moments, they could all be important. What should you focus on?

To simplify it for you, I want you to approach your matches with a mission. Your mission is to win two sets. That’s it. The actual score of the sets is not relevant.

In the process of playing a set, there is a journey from 0 to 6 (or 7) that is often long and difficult. You must accept that as the way it is. It will involve a lot of suffering and it will not be easy. Embrace that reality.

Having this perspective going into a match will help you withstand the inevitable ups and downs that are experienced during a set. Stick to your process and trust that it will put you in a good position to win in the end. Getting too high or too low emotionally will distract you from the mission. You must stay focused on the mission, especially if you are losing on the scoreboard.

Great competitors in tennis understand the scoring system very well. They are not phased by what happens on individual points because they know there will always be opportunities to recover. Nothing is truly decided until the match is over. You must do the same as these great competitors. You must approach each point with the best focus, effort, and attitude that you can muster in the moment. The repetition of this point after point should be a major part of your process.

Break the Opponent Mentally

An advantage that you now have going into every match is that the majority of your opponents will not understand the concept of “how not to lose.” They will be susceptible to pressure and stress, and they will break down if you are able to do your job effectively. So, to achieve your mission, your primary goal will be to break the opponent mentally.

Knowing the weak points in their physical and mental games will enable you to earn the win by causing them to break down and lose. To be clear, pressuring your opponent to lose IS earning the win. Just because your opponent may have “lost,” it doesn’t mean you were not the one responsible for causing them to lose. After the match, your opponent may make a ton of excuses for why they lost and give you little credit. That’s okay. In your mind, you can take credit for your opponent’s breakdown. You did it!

When playing with the goal of breaking the opponent mentally, it is important to recognize the signs of mental breakdowns in your opponents because many players miss them.

Signs of the opponent breaking: Anger, poor body language and attitude, rushing between points, rushing/reckless during points, negative comments, reduced effort and fight, visible tightness, tentative during points, low energy or fatigue.

If you notice these signs and you believe that your opponent is on the verge of breaking, you want to understand what part of your game or strategy is causing them to lose control and discipline. With this knowledge, you can apply more pressure and stress via your weapons to their weak point(s).

How to Pressure Your Opponents

To help you earn more wins by breaking the opponent mentally, there are five basic tools that you can use to pressure opponents. Build your game based on these five tools in this specific order:

1. Consistency
2. Directionals
3. Accuracy (depth/placement)
4. Spin
5. Power

To become a great player, the first three tools are essential. They are the foundation of a great game. Spin generally enhances your ability to perform the foundational tools. Power can compromise consistency and accuracy, so as you build power into your game, understand its effects on your ability to be consistent and accurate. Additionally, the better your movement and footwork are, the better the quality of these tools. (Note: movement, footwork, and conditioning are integral to being a great tennis player.)

These five tools should feature in your disciplined process of playing the game. The more you understand how to use these tools with your unique blend of strengths and game style (i.e., all-court player, aggressive baseliner, attacking player, etc.), the easier it will be to maintain your discipline and earn the win.

Find the Weak Points

When competing, look for opportunities to apply your strengths in these tools to your opponent’s weak points. For example, if your opponent does not move well or is in sub-optimal condition, consistency and directionals may be a good way to move the opponent side-to-side and tire them out. Do that long enough, and fatigue will take over and a mental breakdown should ensue. Andre Agassi was very proficient at this method of breaking his opponents.

Here are some other weak points that you can use the five tools to exploit:

• Rally shot tolerance
• Inconsistent ground strokes
• Can’t handle power
• Can’t handle spin
• Movement around the court
• A particular stroke (e.g., backhand, volley, overhead)
• Conditioning
• Tempo of rally (fast, slow)
• Can’t hit passing shots especially under pressure
• Poor on pressure points
• Doesn’t handle balls out of the strike zone well
• Weak second serve
• Weak return

Keep in mind that you are pressuring these weak points so that opponents become distressed and uncomfortable to the point that they make physical and mental errors. They convince themselves to lose. This is the essence of breaking the opponent mentally, and thus earning the win.

Use Your Locker Room Power

Another means of breaking your opponent mentally is to use what elite tennis coach David Sammel calls Locker Room Power (LRP). LRP is an aura of professionalism and confidence that you have. It is the aura of someone who knows how to win, and it exists at every level of the game.

You create this aura through your work habits, your presence on and off the court, your emotional stability during matches, and your ability to maintain focus and discipline under pressure. Treat these components of LRP as skills so that you can develop and improve them over time.

Players with LRP know their weapons and their process inside-out. Other players can see and feel this LRP, and it becomes another bit of pressure for them to deal with. It gives them another reason to break down and lose. Your LRP is an additional tool in your competitive toolbox that you can use to earn wins. (For more on Locker Room Power, check out this interview with David Sammel on the Tennis IQ Podcast.)

Uh-oh, Your Opponent Knows How Not to Lose

On occasion, you are going to face someone who also knows how not to lose and who also has LRP. Don’t despair as this is a good thing. It’s the challenge your game needs in order to get better.

In this situation, simply trust your process and let the match unfold. Someone has to win and someone has to lose, but you can derive personal satisfaction from sticking to your process while playing with great attitude and effort.

When faced with this most challenging opponent, your thoughts may betray you. They may try to convince you to increase the amount of risk in your game. Or they may tell you that you aren’t good enough. Basically, they will try to convince you to lose. The opponent’s LRP may be very strong, and your mind is reacting to that.

Regardless of what those thoughts may be, be prepared for them to intrude during the match, and equip yourself with deliberate self-talk to enable you to get back to the four points detailed in How Not To Lose:

• Positive Identity
• Disciplined Process
• 100% Positive/Productive
• Enjoy the Fight

Again, derive satisfaction from being able to play with discipline and positive intent, and for having the courage to do so. Whether you win or lose this particular match-up, you and your game will grow from the experience of being forced to “earn the win.”