Evaluating Your Performance
The tournament is now over and whether you've won or lost isn't as important as what you're able to learn from this experience. Playing tournament tennis isn't an easy thing and hopefully you aren't too upset about your results! If you did come through and won the whole thing, CONGRATULATIONS! If you had a tough time, CONGRATULATIONS simply for having the courage to step on the court for the very first time in a competitive setting! In this final installment, we'll discuss how to properly evaluate your very first tournament!

Write down the good and the bad things that happened in your match
I know this is a hard thing to do, but you need to write down all the things you can remember about each and every tournament match that you've played. Why? Because your coach probably wasn't there and needs as much information from you as possible in order to help you become a better player. You need to be very honest with yourself and your coach (without being overly critical). Even if your coach was there, still write down what you think happened and show these notes to your coach. You may be amazed at how totally different your notes will be, and this is to your benefit. If you're someone who plays without lessons and entered a tournament, and, after concluding this tournament you decide to hire a coach or pro, this will give the prospective coach some idea as where to begin and also will show the coach how serious you are taking your tennis! We like to see this type of student, BELIEVE ME!

Try not to take a loss too personally!
Losing a tennis match has nothing to do with who you are as a person. You are not a failure because you didn't win a tournament or even a match! I know you probably aren't feeling too good about yourself because you lost, but you shouldn't. Nor should you get a 'big head' because you won a match or a tournament. There's a fine line between winning and losing a tennis match. In many instances, one or two things decide a match. Sometimes winning is by pure luck and the same thing can be said about losing a match. Remember, this is your first tournament so anything can happen. The most important thing is that you CAN learn from winning and from losing and by using the information correctly you will become a more complete player and a more complete person from this experience.

Hit the practice court and get back to work as soon as you can!
After speaking with your coach, or, studying what you wrote down about your match, get back to the practice court as SOON AS POSSIBLE! Why? Because it's important to get back out there and hit the ball again. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to get motivated to begin to work on the things that went wrong and to continue to perfect the things that went right. Be patient when working on your weaknesses and your strength's. This is where a good, supportive, knowledgeable coach can make all the difference in the world. This person will know what to do and design a program especially for you! If for some reason you can't hire a coach, I'll be your Internet coach. Just send me an email and I'll do what I can!

Good Luck TO EACH OF YOU!!!!

Phil Naessens is the Director of Tennis/Head Professional at the Corfu Holiday Palace Hotel and Casino in Corfu, Greece. For information regarding tennis holidays, group clinics and lessons while staying in Corfu or having Phil come to your club, he can be reached at Alphitennis@hotmail.com or by calling +30 693 644 4218.