Tennis has an anger-management problem, and it’s getting worse | Washington Post

/in , /by

PARIS — On an obscure court at Roland Garros, in a women’s singles match that drew scant attention, 63rd-ranked Irina-Camelia Begu thrust herself into the global spotlight as the latest example of the ugly, potentially injurious on-court outbursts plaguing pro tennis in recent months.

Irked over losing her serve in a pivotal moment, Begu, 31, tossed her racket on the French Open’s red clay, and it ricocheted into the stands and toward a small child, who burst into tears. The chair umpire summoned the supervisor to adjudicate, but Begu was allowed to play on, later cited for unsportsmanlike conduct, despite the fact that her racket “brushed” the child, according to a statement from the tournament director.

Just two days earlier, Andrey Rublev, the French Open’s seventh seed, also got a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct after he smashed a ball in a rage that almost hit a groundsperson.

……

Most pros at the top of the sport, however, come to realize that controlling their anger is ultimately in their interest.

For Rafael Nadal, a five-time recipient of the ATP’s sportsmanship award, behaving on court is something he learned as a child.

“My uncle, my family, never allowed me to break a racket, never allowed me to say bad words or give up a match,” Nadal once explained. “

Probably when I was a kid, they didn’t care much about winning or losing. Of course, all the parents and family, my uncle [who was also his coach] wanted me to win every single match. But probably that was not the most important thing.

The most important thing was the education and the fact that I grow with the values, with the right values.”

For second-ranked Daniil Medvedev, who is still haunted by an epic meltdown he had as a 14-year-old junior, it has been a process.

“At one moment, I understood that it can negatively affect your tennis,” Medvedev said. “But I definitely didn’t understand it [at 14]. It was much later. …

I’m still learning because I have some tantrums, if it’s the right word, sometimes on the court. Usually I’m not happy about it.

The most important is either to know how to react or, better, how not to do them and just stay focused on the match.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/05/26/tennis-angry-outbursts-french-open/

ATP: May 14 Badge Lessons:

/in , /by

More valuable ‘how 2 play’ lessons from yesterday’s match and a repeat of some from the previous match.

In a repeating pattern, both our pairs started well (after good prematch warmup) and won the first sets easily.  Again, Mike/Sam continued on and completed both sets successfully against the better pair. Meanwhile on court 2, the opposition, while clearly outgunned by Bobby/Fred regrouped and changed the game.  They continued this pattern against Mike/Sam.

In brief, they changed the rhythm of the game by:

1. taking much more time between points and particularly on change of ends.

2. Hitting slower, short balls particularly on serve forcing us to generate our own pace.

Combining 1/2 gives ‘too much time to think’, causes players to doubt their ability and leads to playing ‘not to lose’. Or stated more simply, playing the opponents game. 

Re 1. Our team collectively plays ‘fast’ compared to most players.  The team has learned the lesson of taking time in preparing to serve on big points and now has to learn how to manage the same on the return game … need to reinforce the use of breathing and ritual to get set between ‘points’ regardless of other player’s game rhythm.

Re 2.  Reinforces both the need to better understand the ‘ghost line’ strategy and be confident in execution.

It’s takes several weeks of practice to learn how to execute on our coaching court and then confidently apply to a match.  This is why I stress focusing on point by point — rather than games or winning/losing.  Yep everyone learns by making mistakes.

It’s tough to learn how to execute under match pressure even so that’s why we are playing badge. Our focus is on learning point-by-point rather than simply winning or losing. As I often say, most times you learn, a few times you win.  It’s a journey not a race.

Learning how to hit the ball is the easy part of tennis. Learning how to play, well that is the difficult part for most players.

School’s in again Sunday at 1230p.