How do you deal with nerves in matches?

tropical said:

When you are mad at someone and want to show them that you want to beat them badly, that will have a psychological impact on them. I did it twice already to someone I hate to lose to in tournaments.

But I don't think it is fun to be mad in sport. It is not sportsmanship. I want to be able to play and win and still be happy even if I lose.

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I agree. I am actually not sure how this guy plays angry and why it works for him. But it does and he does it all the time.

And my point was that we are all different and that what works to help one person deal with his/her nerves, may not always work, and may not work the same way for someone else.

UpSideDownCarl said:

I have a friend who is pretty high level. Solidly 2400-2500 USATT level. He was homeless when he was a teen. He plays best when he is raving mad. So, he does these antics that are pretty ugly. He curses himself out. He says the other player sucks in a whole host of really lousy ways. He throws his racket. He gets himself worked up into a frenzy. A level of anger and stress that would make most of us play terribly. And when he hits that level of anger, he plays way better.

Some of what he does is unconscious. Some of it he is conscious of. But by the time he is mad enough, it is no longer a joke. He is flaming mad. And he is not in control of the anger. And his level of play is much higher when he gets there. And he is much less likely to choke if he is in that psycho headspace.


Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

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It reminds me John McEnroe.

langel said:

It reminds me John McEnroe.

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Yeah. Good point. Believe it or not, this guy is even more extreme. But it is interesting how he gets in a groove when he is that mad.

Know another guy who is a similar level who has trouble controlling his temper. He gets mad like that a lot during matches. But when he does he falls apart and loses a lot of points just because of how angry he is.

When you're starting a match a player often has the 'butterflies in the stomach' feeling. Once you warm up nicely and start putting your strokes on the table it gets better. Main thing is that you have to trust your gut-feeling, enjoy this beautiful game and make it difficult for your opponent to score points... i can recall how i lost close matches and how i won close matches.. difference between the two was the mental process on the big points.. if you get tight on the big points the other player will probably exploit it.. if you play loose it becomes that much more easier to finish off the match.

TableTennisTom said:

Hi all

I just published my new table tennis blog post How to deal with nerves in table tennis matches.

In the blog post I talk about my own problems dealing with nerves and how I have tried to overcome them.

I'd be interested to know how other people deal with their nerves too. What methods do you use?

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most of time, due to nerves, the purpose of the game goes lost: the pleasure to play TT!

I'm sure, if we see - and we work to see the match as an opportunity to express our own (character, TT abilities, challenge opportunity, ecc) - we will reduce the disefficiency of the negative stress created by nerves.

fear is inside by us as defensive mechanism (primary emotion). the only way to reduce fear (cancel is not possible) is to use the rational mind, programming (sequence, iteration, alternative) each time match, set, point. it can be easy, it can be not.

traduced in simply math: ME (x) - OPPONENT = RESULT ()

win/lose is a result of the sum of complex variables (x, y) of the functions ME and OPPONENT, RESULT has no variables, is only an outcome; if positive, then I have won the point, if negative, I losed it.

be clear in mind, at the end the battle is done through a ball (40mm, 2,7gr...), no blood, no swords, just a challenge

I play way better against opponents I already know because I can visualize how the match is going to go. I think I would be way more relaxed if we always played bo7 matches, because in bo5 when you lose the first set you are already under pressure.

My confidence builds on my backhand. It can be very deadly, but if I miss 2 or 3 shots I tend to cramp.

While there might be some things out there that can calm down your nerves in deciding situations, like breathing techniques etc., I think your general mindset on the long-term is even more important. This is nothing you could change right now.

Attitudes that could prevent you from getting too nervous could be:

- know your strengths and know that you can rely on them
- be ambitious but still realize that in the end you play for fun
- desire the victory more than you fear the loss
- try to actively win the point, don't hope for your opponent to make easy mistakes
- take every match as an opportunity. If you fail, be sure that you will have your revenge one day.

And so on. With that self-awareness you are much more unlikely to get too nervous in crucial situations. Of course you still do get nervous but usually you are able to get over it.

I usually dont get nervous.
And if do I remember myself that I am just playing table tennis or fun and winning or losing doesnt matter.

Some things that helped me during many years of tournament (court) tennis: (1) Think of nerves as the feeling of your body going into high performance mode. (2) Don't try to control "nerves." Too non-specific. Try to control specific negative aspects of nerves, especially rapid breathing/heart rate, muscle tension, and loss of focus. (3) Slow down your heart rate by taking a deep breath and holding it for a few seconds. Try it while feeling your pulse and you'll find it works every time (for physiological reasons) no matter how nervous you are. So a well-known trick among athletes and actors is 3 deep breaths (deep breath - hold for 3 seconds - exhale slowly - repeat) to reduce performance anxiety. It's not magic, but it does work for many people, and the more you practice the more effective it becomes. (4) Relax overly tense muscles by tensing them even more, holding for a few seconds and then releasing. But be careful with this one. It works well if muscles are tense because of adrenaline/anxiety, but will just cause you to cramp up if the tension is coming from lactic acid/fatigue or dehydration. With experience you can easily tell the difference. (5) Maintain or re-establish focus by performing rituals, especially between points. Have a short sequence of simultaneous physical and mental actions to perform. Keep it really simple. Like jogging up to the net, wiping your hand on the table, getting into position to serve or receive in exactly the same way, while running through a short flight check list in your mind. Move your feet! See the ball! And so on. (6) Keep tactical thinking between points as simple as possible. Which serve will you hit? Which angle will you take on the receive? And that's it. Don't try to predict what you can't control. (7) If you feel like nerves are starting to make you play badly, it's often your footwork that's gone bad. (8) Like Baal wrote above, have a great serve. There's nothing else that will take more pressure off you and put more on your opponent. (9) If you're like me, you'll want to have a slice of pizza an hour before playing, or really at any other time.

Andy44 said:

(9) If you're like me, you'll want to have a slice of pizza an hour before playing, or really at any other time.

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Wise. Pizza is delicious. Eating a pizza is always the right choice.

Delicious things get your hormone system work (endorfin), which will increase your performance. Sweat meals and snacks have a similar effect, but sugar affects your water balance badly. And my experience shows that sweet bakery products doesn't have a really positive effect. A little chocolate and something without sugar works better.