Marcin Bieniek

Looking at the tennis match we can clearly see how hard players have to work for every point. Players try to use own strengths to dominate opponents and force them to use more effort to stay in the point. Adding to this fact the total match time that can last sometimes even over 5 hours it shouldn’t be a surprise that players are really tired after finishing just one battle. But is it really true? Is tennis the game of work or the game of rest?

After every point players have 20 seconds of rest. Every changeover delivers 90 seconds of rest and after the set is done players can use up to 2 minutes to get ready for play. If we look individually at every time period it doesn’t look as a big number but when we add them all up we can be astonished how the perspective changes. According to tennis data, around 25% of total match time is used for playing. The rest (75%) are pauses between points and gems that players can use for whatever they want. Either to help them perform better or to have negative impact on their game. Top players consciously work during rest time and that is why they are able to maintain high-level of play for longer than just few minutes.

It all starts with consciousness. Players who realize that they are on the right way to develop specific steps have bigger chances to use given time to own favor. When the point is done player has 20 seconds to do a lot of things. Players tend to complain, look at the other court or just take the ball and get to the baseline to start the new one. This lack of routine results in more errors, less effective tactical play and often improper mental approach before the next point.

Top players don’t only rest during 20 seconds but they use it for more action. They use towel as a part of routine that helps them both dry their hands but also to make some analysis. What did happen in the last point? Should I continue my strategy? What changes do I have to make? Asking few questions is enough to get proper knowledge but primarily to be conscious of on-court actions. Just by using 20 seconds to understand what is going on players are able to self-correct themselves, make tactical changes when needed or to calm down after missing easy put-away forehand.

20 seconds is enough to stay present and make simple changes but what about 90 seconds after every 2 gems? During changeovers players should drink their well-prepared fluids and can eat some banana but nutritional recovery is not the only goal of this passive time. Even when players don’t actually hit the ball they can still get advantage over the opponent if they use pause effectively. 90 seconds provide opportunity to analyze the last few gems and think about good and bad patterns that had impact on current score. Player can realize what he was doing well and continue that or what he did badly and that he should stop doing that. It again comes back to the awareness – only the player who is aware of situations on the court can control own actions and increase own chances for final win.

If you look at the stars on ATP/WTA Tour you can observe that they use changeovers for more than just pure rest. Andy Murray or Serena Williams use notes to be sure that they stay on top of their prematch goals. Rafa Nadal takes care of his bottles to make sure that his mind can feel comfortable and he controls what he can control. There are also other players who use this period of time for quick visualization to get some benefits of rest during the competitive match. There are different tools available to use free time to own favor but players have to know them first and then be willing to use them.

Let’s not forget also about 2 minutes that are available when the set is done. This break gives enough time to think about the whole set and take conclusions to win the next one. In regular matches you have to win 2 sets to win the match so it is crucial to make analysis after the set to give yourself plan for the next part. If we won set it means we were doing something well so our plan should include continuation of these effective choices. If we lost set it means that something didn’t work out so finding these factors and correcting them will definitely increase our chances for better result in the next part. Additionally we can use this time also for visualization or other relaxation/motivation techniques to have positive influence on our mind.

Is tennis the game of work of the game of rest? It is not easy to answer this question. I would say that tennis is the game of pauses that requires constant work. Players who are focused on performance only during the points don’t have chances for spectacular and repetitive results. To become a champion you have to work all the time – sometimes just physically, sometimes mentally and many times both physically and mentally. Time on the court is the same for all competitors but it depends on every individual what he wants to do with this time. You can play tennis, you can rest or you can use every opportunity to beat the rival. And it includes conscious work while playing points and between the points, gems and sets.

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