What to do between points in tennis
Reset in twenty seconds. Point your attention outward.
Key facts
- 1
A 2006 review measured tour players using about 18 to 20 seconds between points. The rules now allow 25.
Fernandez et al. (2006), British Journal of Sports Medicine
- 2
An external focus, on the ball's flight or the target, beats an internal focus on a body part, regardless of age, health condition and level of expertise.
Wulf (2013), attentional focus review
- 3
The constrained-action hypothesis holds that conscious control jams the automatic movement it is trying to help.
Wulf, McNevin & Shea (2001)
- 4
Hanin's IZOF model says each player has a personal best level of arousal, and some play best slightly anxious.
Ruiz, Raglin & Hanin (2017)
- 5
Experts hold their final fixation on the ball, the quiet eye, for at least about 100 ms before movement starts, and longer on successful attempts.
Vickers, quiet eye research
Why it works
Two things decide a shot under pressure: how aroused you are and where your attention is. Your stroke doesn't change on break point. Your attention does.
Arousal has no universal right level. Each player has a personal band, so "calm down" can push you out of yours. Attention has a clearer answer. Thinking about the target or the ball's flight works better than thinking about your wrist, because conscious control of a body part jams the automatic swing.
The routine sets both dials. A repeatable sequence of breath, bounces and one cue word crowds out worry and points attention outward. The four phases, release, relax, prepare and ritual, are the modern form of Loehr's routine work. The best players look bored between points on purpose. That boredom is a reset with a structure you can copy.
The line to say on court“Don't calm down. Find your zone, then look at the target.”
Drill: The four-phase reset
10 min · alone or with a partner- When the point ends, turn away, release with one exhale and walk to the towel or the back fence.
- Take two slow breaths. Decide your serve or return plan and say it once in target words.
- Run your ritual: the same bounce count, the same look at the target, then the toss. Keep the same order every point.
- Play ten points like this. A partner or a side camera counts the points where all four phases ran before the toss.
More drills like this: practise alone, mental game
Faults and fixes
Questions players ask
How long do you get between points in tennis?
The rules give 25 seconds. Tour players have been measured using about 18 to 20 seconds.
What should I think about before I serve on a big point?
A target, like "deep to the backhand corner." A body cue such as "snap the wrist" pulls attention inward, and "relax" assumes calm is your best state, which it may not be.
Is a pre-serve routine just superstition?
No. It's a way to deliver one outward thought at the toss. The breath, the bounces and the cue word crowd out worry and point your attention at the target.
Should I always try to stay calm in a match?
Not necessarily. Research on individual zones of optimal functioning suggests each player has a personal best level of arousal, and some play best slightly anxious.
What this doesn't cover
A minority of studies find that some people benefit less from an external focus than others. Personal arousal zones are hard to measure and validate across many players. The phase timings of the routine are a coaching structure, not measured values. The 18 to 20 second figure comes from a 2006 review and may predate the 2018 shot clock.
Sources
- Wulf (2013): attentional focus and motor learning, a review
- Wulf, McNevin & Shea (2001): the constrained-action hypothesis
- Ruiz, Raglin & Hanin (2017): IZOF overview
- Fernandez et al. (2006): match-play review, British Journal of Sports Medicine
- Vickers: quiet eye research
- Loehr: between-point routine work