The tennis elite show at the US Open that success is often decided in the head. These strategies will also help you in your next match.
Anyone standing on the court at the US Open is not just fighting against their opponent, but often also against their own doubts, physical exhaustion or a lost rhythm. The pros regularly demonstrate on the big stage in New York how to free yourself from difficult situations. These mental and tactical tricks can be perfectly transferred to your own game in recreational sports.
A stable serve is half the battle in tennis. But what do you do when your rhythm is suddenly gone? Frances Tiafoe explained after his third-round victory at the US Open that he is not a big believer in complicated technique. Instead, in difficult phases, he concentrates on very simple, mechanical processes: do not rush, do not lean forward, but work upwards and outwards in a controlled manner. This helps to quickly find a fluid service rhythm again.
Daniil Medvedev also demonstrated that raw power is not everything. According to match data, despite a significantly lower serve speed than his opponent Arthur Rinderknech, he won an impressive 85 per cent of points after the first serve. Consistency and placement often beat pure speed here.
Sometimes a match just starts sluggishly. Jessica Pegula described her start in the third-round match against Leylah Fernandez as "lazy" and immobile. Her solution: she had to dig deep, force herself to move her feet more actively to the ball, and act more aggressively tactically in order to dictate the rallies early on herself. If you notice that you are becoming passive, you should consciously force yourself to do more footwork.
A look back at tournament history also shows how important the mental attitude is: in 1996, Pete Sampras dragged himself across the court in the quarter-finals against Alex Corretja, dehydrated and plagued by nausea, saved a match point and ultimately won in the tie-break of the fifth set. Such extreme examples show that the belief in victory can move mountains even when the body is actually on strike. In the case of health problems in recreational sports, of course, safety comes first, and if in doubt, you should rather leave the court and get a professional assessment.
Load management is a big topic among the pros. Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka expressed clear criticism of the extremely dense tournament calendar. Alcaraz emphasised that he prefers to take breaks to be mentally and physically fresh, instead of rushing from tournament to tournament. This is the only way to deliver top performances.
For you as a recreational athlete, this means: give your body the necessary recovery. Anyone who goes onto the court tired or mentally drained not only loses the fun, but also risks injuries. Plan your training and playing times wisely and schedule conscious recovery phases.
Your takeaway: If things are not going well in the match, concentrate on simple movement sequences, increase your footwork and do not force anything with raw power.
This article was generated automatically with AI from the sources listed above and has not been editorially reviewed.