Tournaments
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Preparing for your First Tournament - Part 1 (By Phil Naessens, Corfu Greece)
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Whether you are a 10-year-old junior or a 50-year-old woman who's just started playing the game,
there is nothing more exciting, or more nerve-racking, then playing in your first tennis tournament.
It's a brand new experience and one that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad experience, providing
that you use this first tournament correctly, and, in this lesson (the first in a 3 part series),
I will try to give you some tips to make your first tournament one of the most memorable
experiences of your tennis tournament careers!
Set realistic goals for yourself!
Since this is your first tournament, try setting simple, realistic goals for yourself.
Winning the tournament would be nice, but not very realistic (although not impossible).
Try setting goals like keeping your feet moving for an entire match or vowing to chase down every
ball no matter what the score is. Ask your coach or pro (providing you have one) to help you with
this (if not, I'll be your internet coach!).
These types of goals will keep your mind on the important parts of tournament tennis (keeping your
feet moving and never giving up!) and will help you forget about the nerves that playing your
first tournament will obviously bring!
Packing your equipment bag
What you bring on court (when you eventually get out there) is very important.
This is a small checklist of what to pack in your equipment bag!
• At least 2 racquets (in case you break a string).
• A towel or two.
• Water and Gatorade or some other electrolyte sports drink.
• Fruit (banana, apple).
• A package of overgrips.
• A portable music player, book, game boy etc.
(to relax you and alleviate some of the boredom of waiting between matches).
• A can of tennis balls (you never know).
These are just some of the things that a beginning tennis player should bring (this article and
the following articles in this series are written for the beginning tournament player) to the
tournament site.
Arrive to the tournament site as early as possible
Hopefully, you will arrive at the tournament site at least 45 minutes prior to your first match.
Why so early? You'll need to check in with the tournament director, which will take some time
(depending on the size of the tournament). You will also want to familiarize yourself with the tournament
site, grab a copy or inquire as to any special tournament rules, and maybe find a quiet place to relax
and gather your thoughts. Another great thing about arriving early is that you might be able to find
an empty court to hit a few balls and get some of the nerves out!
These are just a few of the things I always discuss with anyone that I coach prior to entering and
playing in their very first tournament.
©2008 PhillyFlash Enterprises All Rights Reserved Worldwide
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Preparing for your First Tournament - Part 2 (By Phil Naessens, Corfu Greece)
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Playing the Match
You've set your goals, packed your bag and checked in to the tournament.
Good for you and welcome to tournament tennis! Now, the moment you've been waiting for since the day
you first picked up your racquet has finally arrived! They've called your name and you're headed out
with your opponent to begin your tournament career!
I'm excited for you and in this article we'll discuss how to play that very first match, which you
can use for every match for the entire tournament (after that you'll be a veteran!).
The warm-up
Normally, you're allotted a certain amount of time to warm-up with your opponent (10-15 minutes) and
this is a great time to learn a LOT about your opponent, if you use your time wisely.
I'm going to assume that you have never played this person before and probably never have seen them
play, so you have no idea what their strengths and weaknesses are.
So here's what you do. Feed a soft ball down the center of the court and watch what shot they select and
you will learn their favorite groundstroke EVERYTIME! It's that simple.
You're probably a little nervous so try and hit balls about medium pace as deep as you can and try and hit
the same amount of forehands and backhands as possible. Then move to the net and hit as many volleys
and overheads as possible and cooperate as best as you can to see that your opponent gets these same
opportunities (in other words, don't rip winner after winner in the warm-up!). Its bad etiquette and bad
sportsmanship and just not nice!
The last few minutes are devoted to serves.
Try and hit an even amount of serves from BOTH sides (ad and deuce) and hit a couple of returns of serve.
Now you're ready for your first match! Excited yet?
Playing The Match
Here's the joy of playing your very first tournament.
You will probably draw a seeded player who has some tournament experience and probably some success.
Don't let this faze you one bit! He/she has to still play their game and you have to play yours.
Here are a few tips on playing your match.
• Keep your feet moving always. This will help you forget about the obvious nerves and give you
something to focus your attention away from those 'first match jitters'.
• Don't go for too much too early. It's important to develop a rhythm and be consistent early.
You don't have to rip a winner on every ball to be successful! Missing too many balls too early
in a match will cause you to become frustrated, which usually spells doom for a tournament tennis player.
• Try not to force your serve down someone's throat. A well-placed first serve is far better then
continually hitting second serves all day.
• Always know the score of the game prior to the serve. This will help to avoid conflicts.
• Play your opponent's calls. Always be fair when calling your opponent's shots. If you can't call it out,
it must be in. If you feel like your opponent isn't making calls very well, don't argue with them.
Ask them if they are sure of the call and play on. If it continues, don't argue. Stop play, go to the
tournament director, and ask for a referee.
• When the match is over, go to the net and shake hands. If you won, try not to 'rub it in', because
you're probably going to see this person again. If you lost, wish them well and don't feel too bad
(I know you did your very best!)
• Make sure to grab the balls (if you won) and don't forget to take them with you when you report
your score to the tournament referee or director. If you lost, help your opponent collect the balls
and head on home!
Concluding your first tournament
No matter who you are, everyone finishes a tournament. When you are finished playing in a particular
tournament, always go to the tournament director and thank them for all their help and for running
the tournament. Most tournament directors at the junior club level are teaching pros, so maybe they'll
give you a pointer or two.
I hope you enjoyed playing your first tournament! I know I've enjoyed being your Internet coach for your
very special experience! No matter how you finished, this is the one tournament you will always remember!
©2008 PhillyFlash Enterprises All Rights Reserved Worldwide
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Preparing for your First Tournament - Part 3 (By Phil Naessens, Corfu Greece)
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Evaluating Your Performance
The tournament is now over and whether you've won or lost isn't as important as what you're able
to learn from this experience. Playing tournament tennis isn't an easy thing and hopefully you
aren't too upset about your results! If you did come through and won the whole thing, CONGRATULATIONS!
If you had a tough time, CONGRATULATIONS simply for having the courage to step on the court for the
very first time in a competitive setting! In this final installment, we'll discuss how to properly
evaluate your very first tournament!
Write down the good and the bad things that happened in your match
I know this is a hard thing to do, but you need to write down all the things you can remember about
each and every tournament match that you've played. Why? Because your coach probably wasn't there
and needs as much information from you as possible in order to help you become a better player.
You need to be very honest with yourself and your coach (without being overly critical).
Even if your coach was there, still write down what you think happened and show these notes to your coach.
You may be amazed at how totally different your notes will be, and this is to your benefit.
If you're someone who plays without lessons and entered a tournament, and after concluding this tournament
you decide to hire a coach or pro, this will give the prospective coach some idea as where to begin and also
will show the coach how serious you are taking your tennis! We like to see this type of student, BELIEVE ME!
Try not to take a loss too personally!
Losing a tennis match has nothing to do with who you are as a person.
You are not a failure because you didn't win a tournament or even a match! I know you probably aren't
feeling too good about yourself because you lost, but you shouldn't. Nor should you get a 'big head'
because you won a match or a tournament. There's a fine line between winning and losing a tennis match.
In many instances, one or two things decide a match.
Sometimes winning is by pure luck and the same thing can be said about losing a match.
Remember, this is your first tournament so anything can happen. The most important thing is that you
CAN learn from winning or from losing. By using the information correctly, you will become a more
complete player and a more complete person from this experience.
I hope you enjoyed playing your first tournament! I know I've enjoyed being your Internet coach for your
very special experience! No matter how you finished, this is the one tournament you will always remember!
Hit the practice court and get back to work as soon as you can!
After speaking with your coach or studying what you wrote down about your match, get back to the
practice court as SOON AS POSSIBLE!
Why? Because it's important to get back out there and hit the ball again. The longer you wait, the
harder it will be to get motivated to begin to work on the things that went wrong and to continue
to perfect the things that went right. Be patient when working on your weaknesses and your strengths.
This is where a good, supportive, knowledgeable coach can make all the difference in the world.
This person will know what to do and design a program especially for you!
Good Luck TO EACH OF YOU!!!!
©2008 PhillyFlash Enterprises All Rights Reserved Worldwide
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