In the last few years, a tennis phrase has been used quite frequently.
Scoreboard pressure.
It is pretty easy to understand in the following scenarios.
You’ve just held serve and your opponent is serving at 4-5 in the first set.
You commit to making high percentage service returns and eschew anything spectacular.
Five minutes later, you have the first set in your pocket after making six returns in a row and letting the scoreboard pressure on your opponent build during each successive point.
Next.
You have split sets and are playing a deciding set as a ten point match tiebreaker. Your opponent serves the first point and tries to blitz you with a huge first serve. It barely misses and she double faults to hand you the first point.
You feel the momentum going in your favor when you remember what your coach said at practice this week…’the last thing you want to do on important point is to hit a second serve.’
Wisely, you make two first serves and go on to take a 3-0 lead as your opponent’s body language begins to go south. The tiebreaker is over soon as you take the match 10-4.
Chuck Kriese was the former tennis coach at Clemson and said…’momentum is the most powerful force in sports.’
In both of these scenarios, the player played smart, solid tennis and resisted playing out of their mind.
They let the scoreboard pressure build until it became a load their opponent could not overcome.
What You’re Saying