Why is it that
tennis players who reach #110 to #200 have such a hard
time breaking into the Top 100?
We have watched the passing of many players in the last
25 years. We have seen players with excellent junior
records, with brilliant resumes from college-level
tennis, others having dedicated to going pro at an early
age... and many have never been able to enter that elite
group of the "Top 100". Why? What is the reason or
reasons? Why do these excellent players encounter a
barrier that holds them back from their ascent in the
ranking?
#1 - Barriers of
Technique: Many of these tennis players have had (or
continue to have) limitations in the technical aspects
of their game. For example, they lack a powerful serve
that allows them to win "free" points without only
relying on their ground strokes. Some have never
developed that defining shot needed to end the point and
put their opponent away. For some it is the lack of
having developed that winning shot that can be executed
- especially under extreme pressure.
#2. Tactical
Barriers: Watching players ranked between #110 and #200
we can be sure that we will see great ability, physical
strength and good mental attitude; but also we will note
that by watching them compete it is possible to see that
it is very difficult for them to sustain those good
patterns of play in every opportunity in which they are
called for during a match. In other words, these players
display INCONSISTENCY and IRREGULARITY in their game -
changing their game in the very critical moments of them
match, confusing themselves and trying to hit shots that
they are not familiar with or don't practice with enough
regularity. Without question, this whole deficit has to
do with the mental aspect, with the confidence and their
ability to endure the pressure of the most
transcendental moments of the competition. I am
including this issue within the context of "tactics"
because I believe that it is crucial to develop from a
very young age certain patterns of play that mesh with
the abilities of each player and his/her personal
preferences. Consolidating this will afford the player a
tactical ability to rely on when the pressure mounts.
#3 Psychological Barriers: Intertwined with the aspects
of strategy and tactics we will include the
psychological piece which impedes many tennis players
from ascending in the rankings. Together with the
reasons given above, many times it is the player's
inability to fight a winning battle against his/her own
anxiety, nerves or the tension of "having to win" in
order to accumulate the points necessary to move up in
the rankings that plays such a vital role. This is like
an invisible barrier... he/she can reach only so far and
then the pressure acts like a brake and holds them back.
It is not their ability or physical preparation or
competitive attitude, it is simply how they handle the
PRESSURE that is the determining factor. Perhaps many of
these players have previously established goals - some
of them unrealistic for their level of commitment to the
sport. When the realization of how difficult it will be
hits them, they get discouraged and abandon their
dreams. Another barrier that needs to be mentioned in
this context is that of "Prior Expectations". For
example: Take a Junior who wins the Orange Bowl and
every Junior Tournament easily finds himself in the top
120 of the professional tour. His family, the press, his
coaches, his sponsors... everyone feels that he has
"arrived", that since he achieved this with such ease,
he must be destined to be the #1 in the world. Who
suffers from these expectations? THE PLAYER DOES... no
one else. Expectations like that can shatter and leave a
player with so much promise stranded along the way
because he/she did not manage with intelligence and
patience the time that is needed to establish oneself.
How much has been written about the difficulties of the
transition between Junior and Pro! Surely we will
continue reading and writing much about this subject!
Daniel Spatz
E-mail:
DBCFRD2@aol.com
