Learn To Compete WITH Your Nerves

"Five minutes before entering the central office, I suddenly felt really bad, extremely nervous. I started to cry. I even had to go throw up a bit.” Stan Wawrinka discussing his emotions before walking on the court for the 2016 US Open final. He won the match and the title.

“You know, half an hour before the match I didn’t even want to step on the court, because I just really felt really bad, and I had to, like, lock myself in the physio room and I had to talk to my psychologist. I was actually crying.” Barbora Krejcikova discussing how she felt before her 4th round match at the French Open in 2021. She won the match as well as the singles and doubles title later that week.

“Have no fear” or “don’t be nervous” or any of that junk is the biggest bunch of bologna on the planet. Things like fear, stress, and nerves never go away. There will never be a match where a player feels absolutely nothing but calmness before stepping onto the court. If that happens to them, they probably don’t care enough.

Champions like Wawrinka and Krejcikova are full of all sorts of miserable emotions during big moments. They’ve just learned how to compete with them.

They’ve learned how to manage their screaming insides so it doesn’t affect their performance. On tv they look calm and collected but that’s not always the case.

And they’ve learned to manage their emotions by not running away from them. They don’t pretend they don’t feel anything. They’ve learned to identify what they feel and coach themselves through each situation.

So if a pro is nervous, they’ll consciously recognize it. If they’re afraid, they’ll admit it. That way they’re not focused on trying not to be something, and they’re instead focused on how to proactively work through the situation.

If they were to pretend they’re feeling nothing, they wouldn’t be making any kind of strategic decisions that help compete with their hands and legs shaking. They’d be making a bunch of mistakes, due to their clouded judgement, which could actually make their nerves even worse, spiraling everything out of control. 

Instead, they recognize their emotions, use breathing techniques to control their heart rate, and make strategic adjustments to limit mistakes.

The tough part for junior players is they’ll first have to go through some growing pains with their development. They’ll have to jump into the lion’s den and experience the paralyzing emotions. They’ll make some terrible decisions at first, making for some nightmarish experiences, but that’s okay. It’s the only way to learn, and the way every champion has learned as well.

That’s why junior players, parents and coaches can’t put an emphasis on winning when players are young. There are too many mistakes that will need to be learned from.

And I understand that the nerves and stress can sometimes be a horrifying feeling. I’ve been there. During the 2008 US Open qualifying, I was so nervous I cramped on the first point of the match. During a collegiate match I was in tears after losing a first set.

We just have to remind ourselves that the worst case scenario isn’t so bad. The only way to improve is by pushing forward. We have to learn what we’re feeling and learn how to compete with it.