Old, young, male, female, fat, skinny…  everyone wants to perform well in their first tournament.  For many players the first tournament will be a make or break event.  The first tournament can spark a desire to be the best or can douse the flame of improvement.  When a student of mine is preparing for his first tournament, I try to have him focus on 2 primary elements:  Control and Spin.
 
Without consistency and control, my student is guaranteed to lose every match.  No matter how hard he can power his forehand, if it is only hitting the table 30% of the time, he will likely lose every match.  As this player becomes more confident, he will then be able to take more risk as the match progresses!
 
Spin is the second major key to winning matches in the first tournament.  Many players under 1000 are not able to handle spinny sidespin serves, not able to handle a heavy backspin push, and definitely not able to handle a deep spinny loop.  By adding good spin to each shot, my inexperienced student can feel very successful by winning some matches in his first tournament.  With early success, my student will likely be motivated and inspired to playing more tournaments and enjoying the sport!