5 Tips To Play Better AND Get Better At Your Next Tournament

On today's episode of the podcast, I'm going to give you five tips for playing your best tennis at your next tournament or your big match, and then how you can use that tournament to also improve. So sit back, relax, and prepare to become a smarter tennis player.

So last weekend, I went to Atlanta, Georgia to play a Padel tournament. And while I was competing there, I found myself slipping into some old habits that I used to do when I played tennis tournaments, where I would play my best, I would learn how to relax.

And then at the end of the tournament, I felt like I would improve. So things that I was doing along the way, and I thought I'd share them today. So the first thing that I do when I'm in a tournament and I'm competing full on is I play every single point like it's my last point.

That seems very obvious and something that you would always want to do. Hey, stay in the present. Don't live in the future. Don't get stuck in the past. But I find a lot of players don't compete their hardest for every single point. So in the finals, we got up 5-0. And I was dying to beat them 6-0. I wanted them to feel like the match was over, like they couldn't hang with us. They played a good game. They held to go 5-1. And then we held to go 6-1.

Now, when we started the second set, I looked at my partner and I said, we have got to break them right now. We've got to get this first point. Let's step on their throats. Let's make them feel like they have no chance. And we came out super locked in.

We got up a break and then we held. So we were up 6-1-2-0. And I looked at my partner and I said, one break is good. If we break them twice, the match is over. We've got to get up a double break. And we actually had some break points throughout that second set.

But we couldn't quite get over that hurdle and get the double break. So now we're serving for the match at 6-1-5-4. And guess what happened? We're in the finals. We're serving for a tournament win. Me and my partner both got a little nervous. They played a solid game. And we got broken. Now, most people, when they're serving for a match and they get broken.

can live in the past and be upset and focus on that and maybe not play their best tennis in that five all game. I've heard someone a little left turn here, but I've heard someone say that resilience is the amount of time it takes to start behaving normally after a bad event. And so if we take that to tennis, what is the equivalent? How many points does it take me to start competing normally after a bad event? So I just got broken. How many points is it going to take me until I'm at my best?

In this particular match, it took us zero. We were locked in at 5-all, 0-0. thinking, hey, let's just break them right now and we'll get a second chance. And that's exactly what we did. We played a great five all game, got the break to go up six five and then won that second set in the final seven five. So at the end of the day.

Even though points aren't created equally, 5-0 in the first set was not as important as 5-0 in the second set. We are competing to our absolute fullest at all times to give ourselves the best chance to play our best tennis.

The second thing I found myself doing both good and bad at times during the tournament was trying to do something. instead of avoiding doing something. So a little backstory, my partner and I had never met before. I just cold DM'd him on Instagram. We had played a long time ago against each other. And I just said, hey, there's a tournament in Atlanta. Do you want to come play with me? And he said, sure.

I don't know him. I'm not friends with him. He's driving from Charlotte. He's bringing his kid. He's bringing his girlfriend. He's investing a lot of time and money in this. And we've never met. And so in the first match, I was mortified. I was like, what if I play poorly?

And I just wasted this dude's weekend. So instead of trying to do something, I was trying to avoid missing. I was trying to avoid sucking. I was very nervous. And with that mindset, guess what happened? I sucked. We won 6-4, 6-4. It was easily the worst match I played all weekend. I felt uncomfortable. I felt unsure. My hands were tight. And it was all because I was trying to avoid missing instead of positively trying to do something.

So after that match, not only did I play poorly, I was not happy with it. The next day we woke up and I said, you know what? That's not the right mindset. I know that for sure. And so I came out in the next match and I said, what am I going to try to do today?

i know i don't want to miss i know i don't want to waste this time but now i need to frame that positively so i started saying hey you know what i'm going to do is i'm going to move my feet like crazy i'm going to release on my ground strokes i'm going to aim to smart targets all of those things will allow me to miss less but instead of saying i don't want to miss or i'm scared to miss

I was framing it positively as what I want to do. And again, that sounds very simple. And yet even I made that mistake in the first match and played a poor match and we got lucky that we won. So try to frame things positively. Try to do something positive. instead of avoiding something negative. And the third tip that helped me play well in the tournament and this kind of goes along with that trying to do something is I walk into the match with two or three main keys.

now a lot of times when i'm coaching players online or in person i ask them what they're thinking about in a match and they honestly might have 10 or 15 things which is just way too much when there's pressure and there's things going on

you're not gonna be able to remember all 15. You're not gonna be able to focus and execute all 15 of those tasks. At best, you're gonna be able to do two to three. So I look at my game like a piece of a pie. What are the three biggest pieces of the pie that I have to execute? to play my best so for me in this tournament it was when my partner lobs i've got to get very close to the net because i've got good volleys

When I lob, I've got to get to the net for the very, very same reason. And then when they give me overheads, I've got to hit the ball cross court instead of down the line. And that's a Padel specific tactic. But those are three things that I struggle with. And so when I walk out in the match, I said,

might suck at everything else. My returns might not be good. My serve might not be effective. I hope they're good, but my main focus was those three tasks because I know if I do those three things well, at worst i'm going to be playing like a b plus or an a minus so something i would recommend if you have a big match or a big tournament is not only video yourself so you can get accurate information on what those two or three things might be but walk out

write down what those two or three items are, and they just make a full commitment to execute those to the best of your ability. A lot of times people get distracted by the result or what the weather is or, hey, what's my forehand take back look like?

All those things could be important, but they distract you from the biggest pieces of the pie. So pick two or three things, knock them out, and you're going to be playing great tennis. Before we get into my last two tips for improving in a tournament, I want to thank my podcast sponsor, ADV.

I actually used their backpack, wristbands, and grips all weekend at the Padel tournament. I'm also not the gentlest soul when it comes to my backpacks. I toss them around a bit, throw them in the car, put wet laundry in there. And after eight months or so, my ADV backpack is holding up like it's brand new.

I've got the backpack order in for my New York City doubles camp, which by the way, we still have two spots available. And I'm so excited to get these bags in the hands of my players. Check out the description for the episode for 10% off these amazing backpacks.

Now, I love to compete. It is the most fun thing in the world. That is why I travel to play these tournaments. It's why I play golf tournaments. It's why I still compete as a coach. Competing is an absolute blast. But the main reason I probably play these tournaments is to improve. I just love the improvement process and getting better. And the number one thing that I do when I'm at a tournament or if I'm around other good players is I study them like nobody's business.

So I was in division two for this tournament. Division one was kind of like a challenger or a future level pro event. So guess what I did in between my matches? I just watched all of the pros play nonstop. Now I'm analyzing what they're doing. So I might watch. 10 points where I only look at their waist down and I just go, what does their footwork look like? Where are they going? Then I might watch 10 points in a row and figure out where are they positioned in the court.

You know, when someone has an overhead, where do they stand? When someone has a volley, where do they stand? Where do they start with their returning position? And then I might look at what decisions are they making? hey when someone hits a good overhead at him do they lob back or do they try to volley it and so i'm watching one guy then i might watch a second guy in the court then a third guy in the court and i'm paying attention to all those different areas

And then I'm trying to figure out what do they all do the same? Oh, they all move their footwork the same way. Oh, they all stand in the same position. And then I try to figure out what are the differences because they don't all play exactly the same, but whatever they all do the same must be a core fundamental.

that i have to use in my game and so i was just watching these matches non-stop watching how they move watching their shots and i honestly felt like after every match i watched them play when i would go out and play i would have some of the same attributes I found myself moving similarly. I found myself acting like a good player, which is obviously very, very important. I found myself positioning a little better like a good player. So when you're at an event or you're in your USDA league match,

Go watch players that are slightly better than you and pay attention to specific things. What are their footwork like? What is their positioning? What is their shot selection? How do they act when they miss a ball? And if you start copying good players, newsflash, you're going to become a good player very quickly.

the second thing i do to improve at a tournament and i cannot remember for the life of me where i saw this tip but it's very very effective a lot of people will take notes after an event or after a match and say here's what i did well here's what i did poorly here's what i need to do better in the future

And that is awesome. I saw somewhere where you're supposed to give yourself the same information, but you're supposed to take a selfie video and say it to yourself. And I have found that to be super impactful. Because you get it in your own words and you get to see your emotion that you felt when you had that information. So after the first match, if I take my selfie video and I say, hey, look.

I was scared to let my partner down. I felt nervous. I was thinking about avoiding X, Y, and Z. When I look at that video in the future and I'm in that same position, I can remember exactly how I felt, how disappointed I was that I had that mindset, how frustrated I was that I didn't play well.

And it's going to be a lot easier to buy into that concept of wanting to do something instead of avoiding something else. If I just see blank text on a note on my iPhone, that's still a good reminder, but I don't get that emotional feeling that I had.

in the moment so i take selfie videos after every match sometimes i take selfie videos after coaching a player on the court and i say what worked what didn't and i can see myself so when i watch it back it's in my own words it's easy to digest and i can use that information to get better

So hopefully these five simple tips will allow you to play your best in your next tournament or your league matches and then use those matches to improve. Thanks again for listening. I hope you just improved attendance without even hitting a ball.