Coaches Q and A: What is the purpose of developing rituals?
Most of the top professional tennis players have recognizable rituals, so familiar to most of us that Novak Djokovic can cause a sensation when he uses them in his impersonations. Harold Solomon of the Harold Solomon Tennis Institute in Fort Lauderdale, Florida explains why they are helpful, and how juniors can benefit from establishing their own.
Harold Solomon:It is my experience that human beings perform at their highest levels when they operate inside of certain routines which for the purpose of this article we can call rituals. We seem to take comfort in and operate the best when we there is consistency in our actions. Many of the rituals that tennis players develop and perform are to keep the player fully engaged in the moment.
Many players have developed rituals that they use after every single point win or lose. One of the first ones that comes to mind is the way that Maria Sharapova turns her back before every serve, bounces up and down, and clears her mind before getting up to the line to serve. Other players retreat 5 or 6 feet behind the baseline, turn their back and either play with their strings, or bounce the ball a certain amount of times before getting ready to serve or return serve. This ritual allows the player to take the time necessary to process the information from the last point, let go of any anger or frustration, and focus on the task at hand. It stops the player from rushing and allows the player to slow down and think right in the middle of the battle. I would imagine that playing against Djokovic can be very frustrating when you have to deal with the ritual of his incessant bouncing of the ball before he serves. That bouncing of the ball helps get him in a certain frame of mind and into a certain rhythm before he goes up after his serve.
Jim Loehr has done a lot of research on rituals and teaches rituals as part of his mental training. He has studied top players and has noticed that many of them perform similar rituals. Many top players carry their racket in their non-playing hand and hold it a certain way between points. Jim has also noticed that many top players walk and hold their bodies in a certain consistent way on the court. Some players will close their eyes and almost seem to meditate during the change overs during their matches. Before matches some players will insist on watching the first set of the match on the court that they are waiting to go on to in order to get themselves visually accustomed and mentally ready to play. Many players have developed a timeline for when they like to hit or eat before a match, for some players it's 2 hours, for others it could be 30 minutes.
Rituals are individual creations. Junior players should think about rituals they can copy or develop which fit their personality and playing style. Remember the purpose of the ritual is to provide a sense of sameness and continuity which will help you stay focused on the task at hand.
Do you have a question for Harold or Andy Brandi? If so, please send it to clewis[at]zootennis[dot]com with the phrase Coaches Q and A in the subject line.
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