How Tennis can help you

Growing up watching tennis on TV . I always wanted to play tennis. Bay area has the right weather and all the free public courts , it was so hard not to play.

Its not only the fitness , Tennis can actually help in other aspects as well  , even if you are a amateur player . Here are some of them in my view

Look ahead   -  always look ahead and stay motivated . No matter what your fault is (Missed a easy volley on break point ,Just double faulted ,Missed a easy forehand ) . If you keep thinking about it , your game will just get worst and you will lose poorly . Forget what just happened and look ahead to what can be done ahead . Some coaches even say , having a short term memory will help you a lot

Don't waste an Opportunity  - Tennis is a mental game ,I would roughly translate it to "Not all points are the same " . Also it's a game which you can score more points than your opponent and still lose the match . So when you have an opportunity you have to make the most use of it . Think about the "Percentage plays"  e.g if your opponent is a base liner and misses most points at the net . Try to get him to the net .If your opponent has a weak back hand try to attack that side on the important point .

Start Over - If you lose a set , its not over . Even if you lose the set 6-0, you get a fresh start for a new set .Think about all the things that are not working and  how you can switch things . e.g if you have a poor first serve percentage , you can take something off the serve and get more percentage of serves in .

Preparation - not only for professional tennis but even at amateur level preparation is a key . All  the drills in the court , strength training  , good  warm up will pay off at the end . The more you prepare the sweeter is your victory , even though there are no $ signs :(

Calculated Risk - Risk taking will vary depending on the kind of player . It will almost be essential if you are playing some one better than you . E.g if you play some one who is a great returner . You are winning only 20% of your second serve points . Have to go for more on the 2nd serve , don't think about double faulting as you are wining only 20% any way !

That looked like lot of tennis talk  , but look at just the headings and what you practice every time as you play , something that can help you ... what do you think ?