The US Open make it clear: pros struggle with injuries, mental pressure and technical questions. How you can use these insights for your own tennis game.
The US Open are traditionally the final big highlight of the tennis year. In the loud and emotional backdrop of New York, it is all to play for for the pros. But away from the spectacular rallies, the tournament shows one thing above all: even the absolute exceptional talents of the world put their trousers on one leg at a time. They struggle with the same mental blocks, physical setbacks and technical challenges that you encounter on the court. If we look closely, we can learn a lot from the stars for our own game.
How difficult a comeback is can be seen particularly clearly this year with Carlos Alcaraz. After a break of several months due to a wrist injury that he picked up in April at the tournament in Barcelona, the Spaniard returned to the court in New York. However, reports from Tennis365 clarify how rocky this road is: in his first training sessions and in the mixed doubles, his serve seemed significantly slower, the forehand was erratic and he was visibly lacking rhythm. Experts like Greg Rusedski even expressed doubts as to whether a best-of-five tournament is the right place for a cold start.
Elena Rybakina also fought against time after a retirement due to injury in Cincinnati. She emphasised to the media how important it is not to rush anything. If you return after an injury break yourself, you should take these pros as a model – not because of their pace, but because of their caution. Daniel Merida, who trained with Alcaraz, put it in a nutshell: it takes time to find your rhythm again and, above all, to defeat the fear in your head. For your training, this means: do not put yourself under pressure, accept initial mistakes and only increase the intensity slowly.
Why do we often play freely in training, while in a match our hand suddenly shakes? Coach Vladislav Ilijin describes this phenomenon in an article for tennisnet.com. As soon as things get tight, our attention tends to drift. We brood over past mistakes, worry about the final result or ask ourselves what the spectators are thinking. In this moment, the contact to the here and now breaks, and the so-called "flow" – completely losing yourself in the game – is lost.
Tennis is an extremely demanding sport mentally, as you are on your own and have a lot of time between rallies. The pros' solution: try to actively keep your attention in the present moment. Instead of criticising yourself, you should observe the ball and the situation objectively. Focus only on the next point, not on the overall result.
There is also a lot to learn about technical developments at the US Open. Roger Federer expressed concern in New York about the extinction of the one-handed backhand. According to Federer, who is quoted by tennisnet.com, there are tangible reasons for this: on the one hand, young players lack role models, as more and more coaches also directly teach the two-handed version. On the other hand, modern equipment – rackets and strings – ensures that the two-handed backhand is the significantly more stable and forgiving option.
For you as a recreational player, this means: the two-handed backhand is the safer choice in most cases, as it offers more stability with fast balls. Those who still prefer the one-handed backhand, such as Grigor Dimitrov or Lorenzo Musetti, must prepare for a significantly higher training effort and clean technique.
That tennis demands a lot from the body is no secret. According to statistics from the players' association PTPA, referred to by star coach Patrick Mouratoglou, injuries in professional tennis are increasing drastically. Arm injuries in particular rose by over 112 per cent in the first quarter of the year. Mouratoglou sees the cause, among other things, in the constantly changing ball brands from tournament to tournament as well as the extremely high intensity of modern baseline play.
If even the best-supported pros reach their physical limits, this shows how important recovery is for you too. Pay attention to warning signals from your body, take enough time for the warm-up and adjust your equipment – especially the string tension – to protect joints and muscles.
Your takeaway: Focus only on the current point during a match and give your body the necessary time to find its rhythm injury-free after breaks.
This article was generated automatically with AI from the sources listed above and has not been editorially reviewed.