My Tough Tennis Slump

Since coming back from an extended knee injury in January, I’ve been in the worst tennis slump since I started playing regularly seven years ago.

Granted, I was never an elite player. I never consistently bulldozed my way through opponents, but I was always very consistent and made very few errors, which means – at the very least – I enjoyably annoyed every guy I played at some point in the match.

But lately, even though I have nursed my way back to a good place physically, I can’t keep the ball in play. Any attempt to be aggressive, and I miss – by spectacular margins. My backhand, a shot which I never lost confidence in, is in tatters. In tennis, when you’ve lost confidence in one of your major strokes, you tend to overcompensate on your other wing (for me, the forehand) which in turn produces more errors on that side as well.

And then, once you’ve had a few bad losses, you become acutely aware of your failings and inability to produce the game you are capable of. And then, it becomes almost entirely mental as you are plagued by hazy memories of specific shots that used to land exactly where you intended.
I’ve sworn more on court this year than, well, anywhere else I’ve ever been. I’ve almost broken my racquet on several occasions – but a replacement costs R1600, which serves as my only motivation to not moer the one I have right now.

But through all of this, I still wake up on every match day thinking “today is the day”. Today is the day everything comes together. My backhand will be back and I will be calm, even when I’m behind.

It’s this fascinating tug-of-war that goes on in your head that keeps me wanting to play this sport, even when I outright suck. I have been through - as everyone else has - my fair share of mentally draining scenarios at work, at school and at home.

But the mental battles on a tennis court are probably more perplexing than any of the above. It just doesn’t compute that one day, your play is effortless and another, it’s gone to ashes. It’s a mystery you must battle through by your lonesome. Figuring out that mystery is what I believe keeps tennis players coming back for more, even if what they are coming back to is more torture…

Nevertheless, let’s hope that putting my struggles into a few words will help to bring my game back from wherever it has been hiding.

Today, I will try to win my first league match of the season against Meadowridge. Wish me luck!