Find your way out of a slump in form

Published by Michael Filosi

Genie Bouchard is working hard to reverse her slump in form. Photo: Getty Images
One day you’re playing with the flair of a seasoned pro; the next you’re struggling to connect racquet and ball. Form slumps can be one of the most baffling and challenging aspects of any competitive sport … but with careful strategy, you can find your way out.

We’ve all been there at one time or another. One week your shots are scorching off your racquet with pace and accuracy and you feel on top of your game. A short time later, you feel like your game is falling apart and simply landing the ball in your opponent’s court seems like a struggle. Form slumps happen to all players across all levels of the game, and can be a source of frustration and distress if they’re not managed properly. If you’re experiencing a form slump, it’s important to look at the reasons it’s occurring and how you can turn it around.

I’m down on form … now what?
The first thing to recognise is that it is normal to have times when you are down on form, and that even professional players experience occasional drop offs in form. There will be occasions when you are firing on all cylinders, and there will be times when your game goes off the boil slightly, and these variations are completely normal for any athlete playing competitive sport.

When you’re out of form, it can be tempting to disregard the obvious signs of a form slump, and try and plough on regardless, but this strategy is usually unsuccessful in helping you get back to playing at your best. The first step to regaining your best form is to acknowledge that you haven’t been playing as well as you could, and then try and analyse what might be contributing to your recent drop off in form.

A loss of form can occur for a variety of reasons, and establishing the likely cause of your poor run is vital to help get your game back on track.

Are you playing with an injury?
Occasionally a nagging injury can be the cause of a form slump, and in your efforts to play through it, your game can start to fall apart. A small strain to a muscle in your leg may cause you to struggle to move freely across the court, or it may mean that you reach too much for your shots rather than getting in a good position to hit the ball, which will significantly alter the accuracy and effectiveness of your shots. Similarly, a lingering arm injury may cause you to tweak your grip slightly to avoid aggravating the pain, which will also have a significant impact on how well you play your shots.

If your form has been down because you’re trying to fight your way through an injury, you are much better off resting your body and allowing it to heal properly so you can completely recover. Once your body has healed fully, you’ll find that your form will improve and you will soon be back to playing your best tennis.

Are you lacking match fitness?
Knowing you have trained harder than your opponent leading into a match can help to give you the confidence that you’re capable of beating them. If you feel your recent run of poor form is down to a lack of fitness, it may be worthwhile undertaking a fitness program to get you back in the best shape possible. Knowing that you’re capable of running out a match helps improve your confidence to play all your shots and run down every ball. If you know you’re capable of working harder than your opponent, your confidence that you can beat them will also increase, as will your play.

Get a second opinion
If you’re in a serious form slump, it can be helpful to seek someone else’s opinion on why you have been struggling. Speak to your coach, fellow players and friends and see if they have noticed anything that you have been doing differently recently on court. You’ll often find that an observer’s insight will help shed some light on the cause of your form slump, as they may be better placed to assess your game from an outsider’s perspective.

A keen tennis observer may note a small change in your technique which is adversely affecting your game. Maybe the height of your ball toss is getting lower and lower? Maybe you are ??lessons from the pros taking your eye off the ball right before the moment of impact? Maybe you’re not following through as much as normal with your ground strokes?

Sometimes very slight changes can have a significant effect on your overall game leading to a form slump, and fellow players and coaches may be helpful in highlighting these small changes, which will help you regain your best form.

Get in the right head space
When your game starts to fall away slightly, it is all too common for your mind to play tricks and lead you to doubt yourself and your own abilities. It’s possible that a few errant shots or poor games can lead to a series of negative thoughts which become reinforced by further poor performances.

When trying to find your way out of a form slump, it is vital that you try not to be too hard on yourself, and resist the urge to keep focusing on the negatives.

Rather than focusing on the negatives of your game, focus on what you enjoy about the game, and why you enjoy playing competitive matches. Don’t dwell on the past too much, and try and view each time you play, be it a match or practise session, as an opportunity to improve and regain your form. After each practice session or match write down what went well and reinforce the positives of your play.

Rather than beating yourself up over a run of poor form, occasionally it can be helpful to take a step back from the situation and maybe even take a break from the game for a short period of time to help clear your thoughts.

When you resume playing with a clear head and positive attitude, you’ll find that your form will improve since you have put the negative thoughts to one side.

Acknowledging that a run of bad form happens to all players at some stage, and that it is only temporary, can help keep the mental demons at bay and assist in getting your game back on track.

Hard work and repetition
One of the best ways to regain confidence during a form slump is by getting back to basics and getting out on the court to practise the fundamentals of your game. It’s important that you develop confidence that your shots are not going to fail you in a match, and the best way to achieve this is by practising each element of your game over and over during training.

Seeing your shots repeatedly land where you want them to during a practise session reaffirms that while your form in matches may be down slightly, the fundamental strengths of your game have not changed, and that it is only a matter of time before your form takes an upwards turn during matches.

Each time you practise an element of your game with success during training helps to reinforce in your mind that you are capable of consistently playing good shots, and with a series of solid practise sessions behind you, it won’t be long before you regain your best form.

This article first appeared in Australian Tennis Magazine.

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