For the past couple months, i've been having very good days. Mostly everyday was very good for me. Most of my shots were fabulous and i was pretty much consistent. Everything was going fine until this week started...For some reason, i cant play very well. The people i used to beat (in doubles) 15-5 most of the time are beating me 9-15 most of the time. I played these people last week and didnt have much trouble. And now all of a sudden, i cant do anything. My service returns (in doubles) are horrible now. Before, my service returns would catch them off guard. Now i cant do anything, it feels so awkward... So concern is, am i going downhill from here? or is this just another phase/step in improving my game even more?
Development is a funny thing. Sometimes it's 3 steps forward, 2 steps backward. Or it may seem like 2 steps forward, then 3 steps backward. Don't judge things over the short term. Just keep working on the fundamentals. Play different people. Alter your routine. At some point you may suddenly make a big improvement.
Just could be some bad days... Once, me and my partner lost two 2 kids who are 12 or 13 yrs old in the first game. Then, we end up with beating their coach in another game. Sometimes, results just came out weired. Just be patient. Hardwork will surely pays off in a long run.
No, you are not going downhill just because you had couple of bad days. It should not be the first time you experience this if you had been playing for a while, say a year or so. Most of us should have this experience. In general, your game should be steadily improving if you train yourself on a regular base. Like all the good players, they all have bad days or even for a short period of time. No doubt about it, you feel so bad when that happen. You start to ask yourself a lot of questions such the one you have. The common question people ask when that happen is that ‘ do I have a correct form or correct technique?’ Most time the answer is yes (remember you have just play so well before), but the form/technique has not yet ingrained in you. That is why it can be bad for some time. Once that the technique become part of you, you will less likely to have that SAME problem. But because you are keep on improving, you level of game is getting higher as time goes, the ‘local minimum’ syndrome will keep on happening. If you compare your no-so-good game today with the games you played 6 months ago, you find your bad game today probably is better than the good game back then. One thing for sure, you won’t go downhill overnight. Skill takes time to build, it also takes time to lose. If you reach certain level, you will never lose your skill. Your fitness, your feel will go but not your skill. It became a live time enjoyment. Nope, I am not that old. Somehow I knew it.
Yeah, i guess i was having a bad day...maybe its the heat here. I feel so dehydrated whenever i play cause its a bit warm in the gym. Today was pretty good though, played a couple of different people. Won half...lost half...its better than yesterday for sure.
well there could be so many factors contributing to that off-night. one, maybe your opponents changed tactics and you need to adapt too. two, it could just be a off-night, everyone has one now and then. three, blame it on the equipments, , like tension not good on the racquets. don't worry about it, you are not going downhill, just one bad moment and you will bounce back in no time.
yeah blame it on the equipment..."I blame you ti-10..." the strings popped that same horrible day and i had to use another racquet.
hrmms...maybe they did improve, but in less than a week's worth of time? is that possible to improve that much?
LB's explanation is credible. Skills might not have improved, however, they may have discovered how not to play to your strengths i.e. their tactics got better, either conciously or unconciously.
I've also been feeling as though the more I play, the worse I get. I though I had reached as far as I could go by only playing games without training, but people I've spoken to commented on how much better I played compared to before! This was certainly a big shock to me as I thought I had been going rolling down hill all year. I think in my case, I was just becoming more aware of what I should have done whereas before I didn't know if I was out of position or did a poor return. As one becomes better, one more readily sees one's own mistakes. Maybe something like this is happening to you?
Thnx Cheung... Actually, I was talking about my own experience. Way back then, I was working on my shots (not particular, but just everything). So many ppl can win over me, to make it more competitive. I just calm myself down, go for every shot, and always try to tell me I have nothing to lose. As I improved, they start to lose more pts to me, and the situation is more favorable my way. Therefore, play with more confidence, give as much as trouble to opponent as possible, let them lose their patience and confidence, then, there u go...
Im really dispointed with my game nowadays. Usually, i play very well. Won the games. But now, i have a bad day - off form. What should i do to get back my form? What should i do if i want my movement on the court more faster? I think, my off form because of racket. I changed from Yonex Carbonex 20SP to Yonex Muscle Power 66. At the 2 1st days using MP66, i felt really good and enjoyed my games. But, these few days, im not really happy with my games. I dont know either is racket problem or what. What should i do guys to get back my form?
Whoa, my thread from 2 years back... If you just recently changed racquets and you're pretty off because of that, you probably haven't fully adjusted from the cab20sp to the mp66 yet.
Hi, Joseph. Maybe they're used to your style. So, you can't catch them off guard because they expect the same technique. I was told the best way to improve is to play with as many types of players as possible and they should all be better than you (or at least your equal) if you want to learn. The toughest players I've met are those who keep me guessing each and every time.
