What you do in an injury time-out can have a huge effect on the outcome of the game. In this time momentum can change – therefore it is important to know exactly what to do and be confident with this use of time.
I just want to lead your attention to another little area that I think is very important in helping some players come to terms with difficult situations. Take note of when your opponent takes an injury time-out. It happens a lot on the ATP and WTA tours, and we’ll see it throughout Grand Slams. The regulations state that if you take an injury time-out, the umpire basically calls for the trainer, so play is now stopped. It could take anywhere from one minute to five minutes for that trainer to turn up on the court. Once the trainer is on the court, they make an assessment of the player – they basically work out what injury or what scenario they need to take to get the player back on the court. And once that assessment has taken place, they are allowed the three minutes from there on. 
So the trainer basically tells the umpire, “Okay, I’m starting to do my work on the player,” so that’s when the umpire calls “Okay, three-minute injury time out.” So the three minutes now all of a sudden has turned into five, six, or eight minutes. What’s that player on the other side of the net to do? Well, I suggest they come in, sit down, think about what’s going on, rethink the situation. If it’s a legitimate injury, okay – generally nothing can be done. If they’re simply taking injury time-out to change the momentum of the game – now you’re dealing with something different.
Be ready to get out there at the end of the three minutes and be jumping around. Be on your toes, be really excited and have good energy going about yourself. That can have the opponent thinking, “Hang on, they’re still riding on that wave of emotion. The momentum’s still going their way.” What you don’t want to do is just sit in your chair and slump, causing you to lose concentration. If it’s cold, maybe you’ll start shivering, so get your jumper on and make sure you stay nice and warm. Probably at the minute and a half, two minute break start getting out there and jogging on the spot. You can go out there and start doing some swinging serves, not taking balls – you’re not allowed to take the balls that you’re going to use in the match. You could get some practice balls, you can ask the umpire for that. But it’s mainly about getting your body going again, ensuring everything is in motion so when that first point is out there, you’re ready to go!
Keep in mind, your opponent now has had three to five to even eight minutes of down time, and if it’s a legitimate injury, yeah – there may be some worrying signs with that player. So you want to be jumping at the gate, ready with determination to get on top of that person and not let them back into the match. I hope that’s a good tip for all of you out there and thanks for your feedback and comments.
Pete Tramacchi
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