Focus of practice matches

Hi coach,

2 issues

1- I play 3-4 times a week and where I go there are weaker players as well as stronger players than I am. I never refuse to play with a weaker player because I do not like it when stronger ones find an excuse not to play with me, so I won't do that to anyone, but can I still improve by playing against weaker players?

2- When I play with a player at my level or slightly weaker or even stronger I do not concentrate on winning but rather on improving some strokes . Is this a mistake? I was wondering that if in practice I do not push myself to winning, will I be able to do that in tournaments? i.e. should I emphasize winning in practice because this is part of my training for tournaments or should I go on  trying to work on my weaknesses?

Hi Hatem,

You definitely can improve by practicing with weaker players.  It is a matter of being smart about what you practice with them.  Play to their strengths and practice your weaknesses.

In training you can have a different focus each time you play.  You can play a match today and focus on winning the match.  Tomorrow you may want to focus on making sure your strokes are  technically correct.  This will depend on what you are trying to work on at the time.

If it is training fora tournament then you should focus on winning the match and finding strategies to win an also learning about your feelings under pressure.