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The fast, unpredictable, net-rushing tennis-player is a person of impulse. There is no real system to his/her game, no understanding of your game. He will make brilliant coups on the spur of the moment, mostly by instinct; but there is no, mental power of consistent thinking. It is an fascinating sort of character.

The most unnerving player is the one who mixes his/her style from back to fore court under the direction of an ever-active mind. This/her is the player to learn from. He is a player with a definite intention. A player who has an answer to every problem you present him in your game. He is the most subtle antagonist in the world of tennis. He is from the school of Brookes. Second only to him is the player of dogged determination that sets his/her mind on one strategy and sticks to it, bitterly, fiercely battling to the bitter end, with no thought of changing his gameplan.

He is the player whose psychology is rather easy to work out, but whose mental viewpoint is difficult to upset, for he never permits himself to think about anything except the business at hand. This/her player is your Johnston or your Wilding. I respect the mental capacity of Brookes more, but I admire the tenacity of purpose of Johnston.

Pick out your sort from your own mental pattern, and then plan your game along the lines best suited to you. When two men are in the same class as regards stroke and equipment, the determining factor in any given match is the mental standpoint. Luck, so-called, is often grasping the psychological value of a change of flow in the game, and turning it to your own advantage. We hear a great deal about the “shots players have made.” Few realize the importance of the “shots players have missed.”

The psychology of missing shots is just as important as that of making them, and at times a miss by an inch is of more value than a return that is killed by your opponent. Allow me to explain. A player drives you far out of court with an angle-shot. You run hard for it, and having reached it, you smash it hard and fast down the side-line, missing it by an inch. Your opponent is surprised and shaken, realizing that your shot could just as well have gone in as out. He will expect you to try it again and he will not risk it next time. He will strive to play the ball, and may make an error. You have thus stolen some of your opponent’s confidence, and increased his/her chance of error, all because of a miss.

If you had just popped back that ball, and it had been killed, your opponent would have felt even more confident of your inability to get the ball out of his/her reach, while you would merely have been winded without result.

Let’s suppose that you made the shot down the sideline. It was a seemingly impossible get. First it amounts to TWO points in that it took one away from your opponent that should have been his/her and gave you one you ought never to have had. Second it also upsets your opponent, because he thinks that he has thrown away a big chance.

The psychology involved in a game of tennis is very interesting, but easily understandable. Both player begin with equal chances. However, once one player has gained a real advantage, his/her confidence goes up, while his/her opponent stresses, and his/her mental standpoint becomes weaker. The sole objective of the first player is to hold his/her lead, thereby maintaining his/her confidence.

If the second player draws even or draws ahead, the inevitable reaction is an even greater contrast in psychology of the players. First, there is the natural confidence of the leader of the game, but it is coupled with the great stimulus of having turned a seemingly inevitable defeat into a likely victory. The situation of the other player is the reverse. He is apt to lose confidence and play worse. The breakdown of his game plan will be the result.

Tennis psychology is only understanding the workings of your opponent’s mind, and assessing the effect of your own game on his/her head and also understanding the psychological effects resulting from the different external causes on your own mind.

However, it is also true that you no one can be a successful psychologist of others without first understanding his own mental processes. Therefore, you must study the effect on yourself of the same thing happening under various circumstances. This is because people react differently in different moods and under different circumstances.

You must understand the effect on your game of the resulting irritation, pleasure, confusion, or whatever other form your reaction takes. Does it increase your prowess? If so, try for it, but never give it to your opponent. Does it deprive you of concentration? If so, either remove the reason, or if that is not possible, try to ignore it.

Once you have correctly assessed your own reaction to conditions, observe your opponents in order to determine their temperaments. Similar characters react similarly, and you can judge men of your own kind by yourself. Different characters you must try to compare with people whose reactions you already know.

Someone who can regulate his/her own mental processes has an great chance of reading those of another for the mind works along certain lines of thought and can be studied. One can only control one’s own mental processes after carefully studying them.

The regular, unemotional baseline player is seldom a keen thinker. If he were, he would not adhere to the baseline. The physical appearance of a player is usually a fairly clear indicator of his/her kind of mind. The stolid, easy-going player, who normally displays the baseline strategy, does it because he does not want to activate up his/her torpid mind to work out a reliably safe method of reaching the net.

However, then there is the other type of baseline player, who would rather remain on the rear of the court while supervising an attack intending to disrupt up your game. He is a very dangerous player and a deep, keen thinking opponent. He obtains his/her results by mixing up his/her length and direction and worrying you with the variety of his/her game. This player is a very good psychologist.

The first type of tennis player mentioned above merely strikes the ball without much idea of what he is really doing, while the latter always has a definite plan and sticks to it.

I trust that this initial foray of mine into the world of letters will find a place with both novices and experts in the tennis world. I am trying to interest the student of the game by a somewhat prolonged discussion of match play, which I hope will cast a new light on the game of tennis.

I will turn to the novice in my opening article and speak of certain things which are second nature to the skilled player. The best tennis equipment is not a lot of good for the novice even if he really wants to succeed. However, one has to buy good quality; it is a saving in the end, as good quality goods far outlasts poor quality equipment.

It is important to always dress in tennis attire when playing tennis. The question of choosing a tennis racquet is a much more serious matter. I do not advise forcing a certain make of racquet upon any player, since all the standard makes are excellent. However, it is on the weight, balance, and size of handle that the real value of a racquet frame depends, while good stringing is essential to obtain optimum results.

After having bought your racquet, make a firm resolve to use only quality tennis balls, as a consistent bounce is a great aid to advancement, while a “dead” ball is of no use at all. If you really desire to advance at the game and progress rapidly, I strongly urge you to watch all the good tennis you can. Observe the play of the leading players and try to emulate their strokes. Read all the tennis instruction books you can get your hands on. They are a great assistance.

Much more tennis can be picked up off the tennis court in the study of theory and in watching the best players in action, than can ever be learned in one’s own actual play. I do not mean that you should miss opportunities to play tennis, far from it. Play tennis whenever you can, but try when playing to put into practice the theories you have read about or the strokes you have seen.

Never become discouraged by lack of progress. The trick of playing some stroke you have worked on for weeks unsuccessfully, will suddenly come to you when you least expect it. Good tennis players are the product of hard work. Very few players are born geniuses at the game. Tennis is a game that pays you dividends all your life. A tennis racquet is a letter of introduction in any city.

The brotherhood of tennis is universal, for none but a good sportsman can succeed in the game for any long period of time. Tennis provides relaxation, excitement, exercise, and pure enjoyment to the player who is tied hard and fast to his job until late in the afternoon.

The following order of development produces the quickest and most lasting results: 1. Concentration on the game. 2. Keep the eye on the ball. 3. Foot-work and weight-control. 4. Strokes. 5. Court position. 6. Court generalship or match play. 7. Tennis psychology.

Concentration. Tennis is played primarily with the mind. The most perfect racquet technique in the world will not be enough if the directing mind is erring. There are many reasons for a distracted mind in a tennis match. The chief one is lack of interest in the game. No one should play tennis with any expectation of real success unless he cares enough about the game to be willing to do the practice necessary to learn the game properly.

Jack it in right now if you are not willing to work very hard. The weather, conditions of play or the murmurs in the gallery usually confuse even very experienced match-players playing in new surroundings. Complete and utter concentration on the game is the only cure for an erring mind, and the sooner that lesson is learned the quicker the advancement of the player.

The surest way to keep a match in mind is to play for every set, every game in the set, every point in the game and, finally, every shot in the point. A set is merely a conglomeration of made and missed shots, and the man who misses the least is the final victor.