A Simulated Inner Game “Game Plan”
Tim Gallwey’s Inner Game of Tennis is in the midst of resurgence as the rights have been sold to a group interested in reviving his ideas. This is a highly worthwhile project. The Inner Game is perhaps best known for its bounce-hit mechanism for focusing and quieting the mind. The concept is that the critical self-analyzing self, Self #1, is silenced by complete involvement of Self #2, the body. By silencing Self #1, Self #2 plays the game. All club players know the feeling when they are playing a regular opponent against whom they know what to do. It feels like magic as they effortlessly blow them away. The Inner Game attempts to generalize this ability so that it becomes replicable and dependable.
At first glance, the Inner Game seems applicable exclusively to shot execution. It encourages a player to stay with their eyes on the ball and at contact. After all, the moment of contact is the most important one on the court – it’s what all of the other moves lead up to. However, it is my contention that Inner Game principles should be engaged in making a game plan as well. First, an example from this year’s Australian Open.
Karolina Muchova, my favorite female player because of her all-court game, touch, and versatility, played Coco Gauff in the 4th round. Coco had won all of their previous four meetings in straight sets, so this was a difficult match up for her. Now anyone who has watched some pro tennis in the last couple of years know that Coco’s forehand can break down under pressure. Numerous technical remedies have been suggested, not limited to changing her extreme Western grip, but she continues to make small tweaks which have had marginal benefits.
Sven Groeneveld, Muchova’s current coach with a history of bigtime success with other top players, appeared to implement a game plan that would target Gauff’s forehand. This means that Muchova was asked to play down the line backhands when ordinarily she would have played cross court to Gauff’s backhand. The first set was 6-1 for Gauff, with Muchova making numerous unforced errors when attempting this pattern. The bottom line is that this plan was asking Muchova to “think” in the middle of a rally rather than just trust her Self #2. In the second set, which Muchova took by 6-3, she began to relax and used her all-court game to control the match.
However, once the match went to a deciding set, she again began to overthink her pattern and did not let the shots flow from her racquet. Winner: Gauff by 6-3 in the third.
This game plan involved too much thinking (more below), but there was another reason why it might not work out: many opponents have used this very strategy against Gauff recently. This means that she is both ready for it and practicing what to do against it. Here’s my Inner Game “game plan”: Play the ball with conviction to any target that you like with the underlying principle is that you’d like to get to the net, somehow. Notice two things that happen with this plan: Karolina does not have to “think” about where to put the ball. She just plays. This freedom would allow her full access to her versatility. It also highlights a general principle of a game plan when an opponent has a clear strength. Don’t avoid the strength at all costs. It makes you too predictable AND it makes you think. Thinking is the beginning of the end. Know where the strength lies but do NOT avoid it at all costs.
Now, certainly top players think and make adjustments. So, what am I saying? This thinking happens between points, games, and sets. Not when the ball is in play!
In Caros Alcaraz’ match against Alex De Minaur, one of the commentators made a similar point. He said [paraphrasing]: “Carlos doesn’t need a game plan. He just responds in the spur of the moment.” Not quite. Carlos has a game plan, but it’s most often not involved with specific targets. It might, for example, deal with his overall plan for how aggressively he wants to play in certain situations.
Many years ago, I coached my partner Jeffrey Aarts against a top singles player from New Jersey. They split sets, time when coaching was permitted. I told Jeff: “Lean on him heavy.” Jeff won 6-1 in the 3rd. When I recounted this to my father, he said: “what does that mean?” Everything, it turns out.
