Playing your best in important matches

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Yesterday’s match was garbage. I lost both and to be honest I think I am the better player both times but I only played a fraction of what I can.
i know my strengths and weaknesses and this time it was not that my opponent did not let me play my best, it was just that I was wayyy too nervous, frightened and passive. Without pressure I play a lot better and attack a lot more.
Yesterday I did not attack a lot like I usually do and if I did it was kinda half-a**ed.
Have you ever encountered that problem? What do you do? It was actually not my team‘s pressure but the pressure I put on my own.
 
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There is no universal solution, some people are just more nervous. It was really bad when I was a teenager and it got a little better by now. Try to really focus on just this one point, on winning this one point. Remind yourself of the important aspects - stay low, on your toes, body slightly forward, tension when hitting the ball etc.

Think about your idols, Fan Zhendong? Think about how he plays, dominates, try to think of yourself as him, he is a fearless beast! Push yourself!
 
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I can get tense when playing an opponent I know I can beat and become too passive and afraid of losing to them. I play my best against a stronger opponent cos I have nothing to lose.

So, I try to treat all opponents as potentially able to beat me which helps me not worry too much about losing.
 
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Think about your idols, Fan Zhendong? Think about how he plays, dominates, try to think of yourself as him, he is a fearless beast! Push yourself!

That is a good advice. I am a sort of a controlled attacker, but sometimes I am too safe and play shots that are too easy for my opponents. If I find myself in this situation, I start talking to myself: "Come on, turn the heat up, apply pressure, make him feel uncomfortable. Put 10% more power when you loop service, when you do the first attack." Next time I will try to memorize some points from the highlights of my favorite players and think about those when in trouble.
 
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says Shoo...nothing to see here. - zeio
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The last time this happened to me I thought to myself it was time to start anew with a new setup. It was well worth every penny.
 
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I guess everyone knows that feeling and there is nothing you could do against that. Match experience is one thing but even after more than 20 years of competitive table tennis playing there are still some very few situations where I am not able to play my best table tennis due to unwanted tensions. Be it a special spectator or a special match, does not matter.

The most important thing for me is to be up for playing a match, usually I really want it, I always want to play table tennis. Another very important thing for me is to be eager for winning a match a lot more than to be afraid of losing it.
 
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Happens to everyone. There is this player at one of the clubs where I play who gives me a tough time but I have only lost one game to him ever, never a match. This game that I lost to him was after I recently returned to the game following a long layoff. My game was still not back to 100% and he turned up but there was no way I was saying no, so I had to play him. And the weight of my unbeaten streak made me nervous, I did not want to lose the streak.

I won the first game but lost the second 11-9. I was down 8-2 and fought back but still lost. I lost because I was nervous and did not go for the kills, opting to play safe, or I went for kills on the wrong balls to make the rally short, get quick points and end the game fast. Both are mistakes.

I managed to win the next two games and the match but when I got home, I kept thinking about his game and my counters and replies to his shots and what I should have done and what I did wrong. I made mental notes of his strengths and my strengths. I did not use my backhand smash or topspins at all and they are among my strengths. When I did use them, I put the ball out because I was not committing 100%. I played the mental game against him. I often do this and it always helps me against my opponents.

The next day I beat him four games in a row because I played to my strengths and did not let him play to his.


I found that worrying about losing is a pit we often fall into, when what we should be focusing on is winning. We all lose, but worrying about it won't help. Focusing on wining will help a lot more. A former national champion taught me this.
 
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