Preparing For The Tournament

I have a tennis tournament in only one weeks time! I want to have the right preparations such as diet, warm-up techniques…

I want to be physically and mentally ready for the tournament. What should I do?

Also, before I play, I tend to get butterflies in my stomache. How can I make my self-esteem high so I can play my game?

Here are a few tips on how to prepare for a tournament.

But be aware that your preparation for the tournament started months or weeks ago and if you didn’t practice well then, you cannot make up for that in the last few days.

DIET: a day or two before the tournament eat rice, pasta, potatoes and not too much pork or beef. Better have some fish with vegetables.

Also drink a lot – a little more than usual to get your body hydrated. Follow the link for more information about nutrition and young athletes.

WARM UP: It should take you at least 10 minutes off court – jogging, imitating the movements when playing (sideways shuffle, forward, backward, cross over, …) and dynamic stretching. (Check Google for that!)

On court you’ll have a limited amount of time so really move well to warm up your legs and body.

BUTTERFLIES: Yes, you can feel those because you are nervous. Really good warm up helps as well as trying to calm down, breathing slowly and imagining that you exhale that nervousness out of your stomach.

Also don’t think about result or your opponent. None of that is under your control.

Focus on your strategy and immediately when you are on court start carefully observing the ball. This will increase the level of your concentration and you’ll forget about the score and thus your anxiety will dissipate.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, February 17th, 2008 at 3:55 am and is filed under Tennis tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


One Response to “Preparing For The Tournament”

  1. Betfair Backhand Says:
    February 18th, 2008 at 1:00 pm

    Yep, that’s probably the best information you will get, particularly not thinking about the opponents. That is what causes a lot of ‘butterflies’. The thought of playing against a better opponent is always worrying, but if you can play at the top of your game and frustrate them, anything is possible.

    Dynamic stretches have been proven more useful for preventing injuries. Apparently you should not do static stretches any more, better to stretch the muscles whilst moving.

    And yes, food with carbohydrates is the best idea before a game. Store up on energy, and afterwards get some protein down you to regain the strength in your muscles.

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