Miscellaneous

 Where to hit it - Momentum, The Run Of Play

You often hear the phrase "momentum has turned against him/her'. But what is momentum? Well, thankfully for us non-too-scientific coaches, this kind of momentum has nothing to do with physics! It is the force that controls the flow of the match. It is a hidden force. It is invisible because it comes from the flow of energy between competitors. You can sense it when competing or spectating. It dictates the run of play - you can feel things going for/against you or the players you are watching.

Momentum shifts at key times known as turning points. Turning points all have one thing in common: they have the potential to cause a change in the balance of the mental energy of one player or the other, which then causes a change in the momentum flow of the match. Turning points can happen when a player is boosted by something or, more often, when a player is distracted by something. The bigger the boost or distraction, the faster the momentum can swing.

These turning points can be caused by many things - a bad line call, a missed match point, breaking a string, a change of tactics, etc. A good example of a turning point affecting a match happened at last year's U.S. Open. Dokic lost the momentum after having a linecall go against her in the tiebreak against Serena Williams. You could feel the energy change between the players - the score says it all 7.6, 6.0 .

The trick to controlling turning points, is to control your attitude when turning points arise. It's why it is so important to stay positive, stay focussed and never give up. The fact is, at any level, things will go wrong in a tennis match. What goes wrong doesn't really matter, it's your reaction to it that counts.