Fluttering nerves, ruined routines and sudden turning points: The pros at the US Open show how to win in your head when things are not going well on court.
Who hasn't experienced this? You are standing on court, everything is actually going to plan, and suddenly you lose your thread. Or your nerves are fluttering so much during the warm-up that you feel like you are holding your racket for the very first time. At the US Open, it was impressively demonstrated that even the absolute exceptional athletes in the world have to struggle with exactly these mental hurdles. Whether comeback dramas, first-round nervousness or dealing with a long injury break – the pros deliver valuable lessons for your own game.
A prime example of mental strength was delivered by Stefanos Tsitsipas in his first-round match against the favoured Cincinnati winner Arthur Fils. Tsitsipas was already a set and 2:5 down and was on the verge of a seemingly certain defeat. According to reports from Tennis365 and Ubitennis, he managed the turnaround through a radical change in his inner attitude: he let go of all expectations. Tsitsipas explained afterwards that high expectations are like a heavy boat that is difficult to carry during a match. By mentally freeing himself from this and focusing only on the very next point, he found his way back into the game and ultimately won in four sets.
His opponent Arthur Fils experienced the flip side of this mental battle. After losing the second set in the tiebreak, his energy left him completely. According to Cyclingnews and the match analyses, Fils could not explain this sudden slump himself and described the drop in performance as almost unprofessional. This shows how closely physical energy and mental state are linked on court.
Even absolute superstars are not immune to doubts. Carlos Alcaraz returned after an injury break of more than four months due to a wrist injury. Although he won his opening match against Roman Safiullin straight in three sets, he admitted afterwards, according to Tennis Majors, how nervous he was before the start. He said he stood in the warm-up and literally forgot what his own match routine looked like. On court, the strategy of not letting himself be distracted by doubts about his own physical fitness, but focusing strictly on the things he could improve at that particular moment, finally helped him.
The two-time tournament winner Naomi Osaka also struggled with massive nervousness in her first-round match against Anastasia Zakharova. Although she ultimately decided the match in two tiebreaks, she explained on court that the first round at this tournament in particular always makes her extremely nervous because she desperately wants to do well. Despite a mediocre service rate of 51% and 30 unforced errors, she kept control – proof that you can win a match even when not everything is running perfectly on court.
The events in New York show that the head often makes the difference in tennis. When things get tight in your next match, you can use the strategies of the pros for yourself:
Your takeaway: When the match threatens to slip away, throw the ballast of expectations overboard and concentrate exclusively on the next rally.
This article was generated automatically with AI from the sources listed above and has not been editorially reviewed.