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Pressure and Tension
The term “pressure” typically refers to a situation in a match where something important is about to happen. Try this quick test – see if you agree that the following situations would be defined as a pressure situation.
Game point or match point in racquet sports,
A penalty goal kick in football,
A birdie or eagle putt in golf,
An Olympic final race or ski event,
Serving for the match,
Kicking in a penalty shoot out
Playing with or in front of someone you want to impress
Pressure also refers to the overall characteristics of the match or game. See if you agree with the following pressure situations:
A semi-final which requires you to win in order to get to the final,
Playing a game against the leading team or person in the competition,
Playing in front of the oppositions home crowd, on their home ground,
Playing in front of your home crowd on your home ground,
Trying out for team selection,
Playing in front of a big audience,
Playing with television cameras covering your event.
Did you agree with all of those situations which many people would regard as being pressure situations?
I suspect you did in most situations but I also suspect you were ambivalent about some of the other situations. You may have thought something like “No, that’s not so hard, I wouldn’t feel any pressure in that situation; I’ve done that lots of times”.
What about tension?
People often say “You can feel the tension in the air”. Tension is also a word that describes or implies something important is about to happen. When two of the best players or teams are about to start a match everyone is excited and tense with anticipation. You may feel the tension when you are trailing in a match or game or even when you are leading in a match.
Terms like tension and pressure are generally unique to you the individual and are defined by you through your interpretation of the situation.
While most people would agree that some circumstances are always pressure situations such as a final or semi-final, not everyone would be tense or worried about performing in that situation. Some people even like “pressure” situations.
You should now be thinking that Stress Points, Pressure and Tension are all words that you the individual can define for yourself. Good. You may also be thinking “If I list all my Stress Points, Pressure Points and tight spots in my game, I can learn how to neutralise them”.
Good thinking. That is exactly what you will do in Control Training through the Winning Zone training program.
Coping with pressure: Classic example number 1
Consider what Petra Kvitova said about match point when she won the 2011 Wimbledon ladies singles final. Wimbledon is one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world; some people would say it is the most important and desirable tennis trophy for professional players to win.
The scene: The Wimbledon Tennis tournament is a big and complex tournament. Several competitions are played simultaneously to include men’s and women’s singles and doubles and mixed doubles events in open, junior and senior categories. After two weeks of nonstop knock out competition the tournament culminates with the “Finals weekend”; the women’s final being played first on the Saturday followed by the men’s final on the Sunday.
15,000 spectators watch the final on centre court and dozens of countries around the world watch on live television coverage. Pomp and pageantry precede the commencement of the match with umpires and ball boys and girls all dressed in special Wimbledon coloured uniforms. The two players are provided with a large bunch of beautiful flowers to carry as they walk out to the court, where they will be required to bow to members of the English Royal Family in the Royal Box.
The situation: Petra was playing her first final at Wimbledon against Maria Sharapova, one of the world’s all-time best ever female tennis players. Petra was seeded 8th in the tournament while Maria was seeded 5th.
Was there any pressure for Petra? Big crowd of spectators, the Royal Family, international television coverage, the most prestigious tournament, higher ranked opponent with a big reputation in pro tennis.
How did Petra Kvitova cope? In the last game she was serving for the match and brought up three match points (meaning she only had to win one of the next three points and she would be the winner).
Would you be nervous?
Petra served a fabulous first serve right down the middle of the service box (a great serve in tennis meaning her skill execution was close to perfection) and won the match with one serve!
Was she nervous? Did she feel the tension? How did she react to this incredible pressure point? After the match Petra was interviewed and asked how she felt during that moment when she was serving for the match.
“I was surprised how I was feeling on the court because I was focused only on the point and on the game and not on the final and the medal" (Martyn Herman, Reuters, Sat Jul 2, 2011).
No she wasn’t nervous, she wasn’t scared, she wasn’t thinking negative Type B’s* and she wasn’t having distracting MoP’s* and she wasn’t even experiencing exciting positive MoP’s* in anticipation of winning he match.
She was in perfect Winning Zone Mindset: Perfect Type A*.
In the control zone: “I was surprised how I was feeling on the court”. This statement infers that she anticipated the possibility of nervousness or tension but actually felt calm and focused … on the ball.
Perfect Type A: “I was focused only on the point and on the game”. Her concentration was on the immediate point, meaning she had to produce the appropriate Type A CCT’s* for the first serve, which she produced perfectly.
No Type B’s: “not on the final and the medal”. The final refers to the overall situation – it was the Grand Final of a two week tournament – she was not thinking about the importance of the event. The medal was the reward to be supplied after producing all the appropriate goal behaviours.* She was not thinking about the situation or the reward, she was just “focused” on her skills.
QUESTION: WAS PETRA KVITOVA SELF-CONSCIOUS?
Apparently not. She stated she was focused only on the current game and point and was surprised at …….. how calm she felt.
We can therefore infer from her comments that she wasn’t feeling nervous, self-conscious or any other Type B thought associated with a negative emotion.
Self-consciousness is one of the most distracting and difficult Stress Points to cope with. Read the Hot Topics section on Choking and Yips and see how these stress points can interfere with your game.
* Term used in Winning Zone Mental Skills training program