Members of the Lithuanian blind tennis national team gathered at SEB Arena in Vilnius in the middle of last week. A four-day training camp was held there, with 12 national team players fine-tuning their preparations ahead of the IBTA World Blind Tennis Championships, which will take place at the same venue from 24 to 29 August.
The team worked with coaches Aidas Danilovas, Tomas Butvilas, Arūnas Rozga and Nikita Babenko. Two training sessions were held each day, with educational sessions in between focusing on sports psychology, tactical aspects of the game and physical preparation.
More focus on the finer details
According to Aidas Danilovas, at this stage of preparation the priority is no longer improving basic skills, but rather the small details that often determine the outcome of a match.
“There is not much time left until the World Championships, so we are now spending less time on technique and focusing more on tactics, physical and psychological preparation, unusual situations and similarly unconventional solutions on court. At the highest level, it is often precisely these details that determine who is stronger on a given day,” Danilovas says.
According to him, the first day of the camp was particularly intense, and the athletes had already begun to feel the physical fatigue.
“That is exactly what camps like this are for – to recharge the batteries and put in the maximum workload, so that things will be considerably easier when the competition begins.”
A chance to get used to the championship environment
An important advantage of the camp was that it took place at the same SEB Arena where the World Championships will be held a few weeks later.
In blind tennis, the environment plays a much greater role than in conventional tennis. Players orient themselves by sound, so it is important for them to become familiar with the space and the layout of the courts. The colours of the court and its surroundings, as well as other small details, can also affect play.
“It is very important for us that the national team is training at the future championship venue. The athletes get used to the space, its acoustics and the courts. Of course, the conditions are not yet the same as they will be during the championships – other tennis players are training around us and there is more background noise. However, during the camp these more challenging conditions can also be seen as useful experience,” Danilovas explains.
European champion and emerging leaders in the Lithuanian team
At the World Championships, the Lithuanian team will be led by European champion Karolis Verbliugevičius, alongside Justas Pažarauskas, Oksana Dobrovolskaja and Denas Damskis. However, the coaches stress that virtually every member of the team is now capable of challenging the world’s strongest players.
One of the national team coaches, Tomas Butvilas, who works with a group of 11 visually impaired tennis players in Klaipėda, believes that success in blind tennis is often determined by very different factors than in conventional tennis.
“Technique is important, of course, but it is not the main focus. It is much more important to be able to hear the ball, maintain complete concentration and make unconventional decisions – using slice shots, drop shots and other similar strokes. These are the kinds of shots that create additional difficulties for opponents. Psychology is equally important. Many people with visual impairments initially doubt themselves, so a coach’s job is to help them believe in their abilities and express themselves more confidently on court,” Butvilas says.
The IBTA World Blind Tennis Championships will take place at SEB Arena from 24 to 29 August. Around 120 athletes from approximately 20 countries are expected to compete. It will be the first time that top-level blind tennis competition has been held in Lithuania.
