Dealing with external noises and distractions in a tennis match

In tennis, at all levels, dealing with external distractions is an important element of performing at your optimal level. My observations from yesterday’s match in Indian Wells between Del Potro and Federer and conversations on the topic with a program we support with Tenicity, spurred me to share a few thoughts on the subject. Below are three examples of sources of external distractions and suggested steps to deal with them:

1. The opponent arguing with the umpire: when you are in a situation where your opponent is arguing with the umpire (it may be an exchange that continues over several points), it has the potential to distract your focus and break your flow. Below are steps you can take to keep your focus and rhythm.

• Create some distance between yourself and the argument. You could turn your back to the net and walk closer to the back fence to minimize how much of the argument you are hearing.
• Go to your towel or strings and try to stay centered with your focus.
• Focus on your breath and once it’s time to step up to the line, be ready to give the upcoming point your best effort.

2. Opponent is challenging calls: when your opponent is challenging calls via a technology system or with the umpire, this action has the potential to impact your focus by breaking the flow of play. There may be other verbal and non-verbal cues that you may pick up that can distract you. For example, the opponent may challenge and argue with the umpire or walk towards their chair, later returning to re-play the point. Below are some steps to take during the time when the “challenge is in process” to keep your focus:

• Accept that the opponent has challenged the call and patiently wait for the decision.
• If there is an argument on top of the challenge, distance yourself from it. Keep your focus centered. I recommend bringing awareness to your breath.
• If the challenge was made late or you are being (in your opinion) wrongly asked to re-play the point, state your point objectively (with facts on what you saw) to the umpire or referee. Even if they don’t agree, at least they will take note for the future. Importantly, once a decision is made, move on with it.
• Take a few seconds to re-focus and let go of any lingering thoughts or emotions before you start the next point.

3. The crowd is loud, distracting, or being unfair: there are times where you will be playing in environments where the audience may (intentionally or unintentionally) distract you with their comments, movements, or other actions. Below are a few steps to deal with this:

• Gauge what the level of distraction is. If it is something small, let the umpire or person involved know to correct it so that you can focus.
• If it’s a partisan crowd cheering on your mistakes, it can be upsetting, but you have to go back to distancing yourself emotionally from it and keeping your focus centered. If the cheering is happening between serves, you can request the umpire to take it up with the crowd, and also take a bit more time between serves to give yourself the best opportunity to execute well.
• If people in the audience are intentionally trying to interfere with your play (which seems to be happening in certain environments in tennis), speak to your coach and team before hand and have an idea of how the situation will be managed. For example, whom should you get involved, how will they help, what is expected of you etc. Having clarity on the action steps will calm you down in that situation.

At all levels of the game, including at the very top, the players’ ability or inability to deal with these external noises and distractions can significantly impact their level of play as we saw in the Indian Wells final.

Thinking through the outlined situations and practicing the action steps will help players successfully manage their focus and performance.

Best,

Harsh

Note on Harsh and Tenicity:

Harsh Mankad is the Founder of Tenicity (www.tenicity.com), a player development services company with a technology platform built for tennis. Tenicity supports junior and collegiate tennis programs to improve the quality of their player development efforts with a systematic, data-driven and engaging approach.