We are excited to share with you the highlights from our recent Q&A session with Professional Player, Ng Eain Yow, who joined us as our guest coach for the week.
Thank you Yow for your passion and dedication all week!
1. When you're in a match, how do you deal with stress from start to finish?
“I think for me it's very important to focus on my breathing. Taking lots of deep breaths, it doesn't matter if I'm serving or returning. I always like to tell my friends that seem stressed when they're playing to always take their time, take a deep breath before returning or serving. Another thing for me is to find something to focus on during those times. For me, I look at the same piece of my racket over and over again. It makes me remain focused and helps me for the remainder of the match. That's how I deal with my stress during a match.”
2. What does your warm up/pregame meal look like?
“My warmup is about a half an hour. When I was younger, I used to warmup for 45 minutes to an hour, but I find that a more intense half an hour helps me a lot more these days. It consists of most of the stuff that you guys would do. Running up and down the court, opening and closing the gates, stuff that you guys would be familiar with. For my pregame meal, I eat four hours before a match. A good amount of carbohydrates for energy, alongside some good protein to get me ready for the match.”
3. How do you mentally prepare for a match?
“Just before I go to bed, I take about 15 to 20 minutes to think about my approach to the match. If I was on the court with my opponent tomorrow, I imagine how I would deal with the strengths and weaknesses of my opponent. A couple days before a match, I would take the time to watch some highlights of my opponent, just to know what to expect in certain situations. I also visualize myself winning the match.”
4. What are you saying to yourself when you are losing badly in a match?
“For me, I need to tell myself many positive reinforcements. Just telling myself that it's fine, everything is going to be ok. If I'm losing badly, I immediately know I'm doing a couple things wrong, so I just tell myself a few simple things. For example, I will just tell myself to hit the back wall. So, for the next few rallies, I'm just making sure every ball I hit is hitting the back wall. At the same time, I'm telling myself that I can do this and making sure to remain positive.”
Thank you Yow, we wish you the best of luck as you continue your professional journey!
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