Alexander Zverev, who was coached by David Ferrer at one stage of his career, has battled the yips on his second serve over the last three seasons
Ernie Els, the South African golfer who has won three majors, once said that putting was easier for players who were perhaps not so smart. The less going on in the head, he said, the better. “Not thinking” is something elite sports stars strive for; when they let the body do its job uninterrupted, that is when they can be in “the zone”, the perfect state where everything just clicks. But when the
with the task of trying to figure out what exactly is going on, what happened. What’s producing the anxiety? How does one resolve the shame? And how does one understand where the anxiety is initially coming from? “All the while, of course, they want a quick fix and they want some behaviour modification process where their anxiety is controlled and self-talk is given. And inevitably, you do that. But simultaneously, andmost importantly, you let them ventilate. You explore the dynamics. Who are they? Where are they from? And then slowly but surely, you can turn it around. “It’s never a quick fix. It’s a process. The defensive systemhas collapsed. The self is massively confused, totally ashamed, totally traumatised. Careers are threatened. That gives you a sense of the gravity of this problem. I’ve said many, many times: if I could cure a patient of their psychological problems in two or three sessions, I’d be charging $150,000 a session - and I’d be getting it.” Sabalenka should take solace in the fact that the likes of Langer enjoyed a fabulous career despite the yips resurfacing from time to time, and that Ivanovic and Dementieva, along withmany other tennis players, continued to enjoy some success. But she would be wise to get some help. It is unlikely to just go away by itself.
with his ball toss in the last two years of his career and Alexander Zverev, whomhe later coached, has battled the yips on his second serve across the past three seasons. The problems seem to surface only in competition, when under pressure. Baker- Finchwould play great golf in practice, winning friendly wagers with friends and colleagues, but when it came to competition he would fold. It was hard to watch. Ivanovic and Dementieva would serve much better in practice. As does Sabalenka. Can those problems be overcome? Yes, but they are always there in the background, waiting to resurface, probably at the worst time possible. The problem, Dr Ferraro says, is that his clients usually want a “quick fix”, which, he says, is not possible. Instead, they need time to delve deep into themselves, sometimes back to childhood, to figure out what has let the yips in. “Often, the first thing they do is they turn to some level of self-medication - tranquillisers, beta blockers, alcohol, anything to kind of control their anxiety,” he says. “Usually, that’s markedly inappropriate and ineffective. Sometimes they’ll see doctors who will try to do various things, give them various medications. Usually they’re not terribly effective. And reluctantly, eventually, they wind up in the psychologist’s office, the sports psychologist’s office, where we’re faced
mind interferes, problems begin. “If I would be asked what is the
general character trait of someone who is experiencing it, I would generally say that they’re obsessive compulsive personality types,” Dr Ferraro says. “The precursors to this are real obsessive kind of thinking, perfectionistic and even compulsive behaviours. So you have that in the background of these athletes, fairly smart people, somewhat sensitive people. It’s really a dreadful problem. Sometimes it really ruins careers.” Elena Dementieva, the Russian who reached two Grand Slam singles finals, was afflicted by a similar ball toss problem to Ivanovic’s, so much so that during the 2004 French Open final she shouted out: “I hate my serve.” There have beenmany others. Anna Kournikova once hit 31 double faults in a match and her career went downhill. Argentina’s Guillermo Coria was also struck down by the yips. David Ferrer struggled
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