The Lesson Lounge - Tennis Warrior

Your Link to Professional Thinking!

Learn to lose, to win!

If you would like to learn to win more....lose! Sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it, but it's true! Too many times we continue to play people we can beat. This is not bad to gain a little confidence as you're improving, but in the long run you must find players that can beat you. And yes, that even includes those dreaded consistent lobbers that keep floating the ball back. Whenever I hear my lessons say "I got beat, but they were not really playing tennis, they were just floating the ball back...I don't like to play that way." I am quick to point out that what their opponents were doing is called consistency, which is really what wins in tennis. Can you imagine Pete Sampras losing to someone and saying "the guy was just floating the ball back I don't play that way!" I think he would handle that type of player quite easily. You should learn to do the same! That's how you become a better player. Go out and play people that can beat you...no matter what style they play. This will help you adapt in your matches regardless of the different styles you'll be up against.

Here's a couple of other reasons why you should seek out players that can beat you. It will stop you from being lazy on the tennis court and developing bad habits. This is a toughy because you get away with being lazy and doing the wrong things when you win all the time, but when you advance to another level it doesn't work anymore. You can stop this from happening by constantly seeking out players that are a little better than you are.

The next reason is the one I like the best. If you play people you can beat all the time you'll never take risks, never challenge yourself, and never explore new options. Why should you, you can win without doing all those things and stay right in your comfort zone. Yes, its true in order to win more you have to lose.

I challenge you to find players or teams with all different styles that can beat you and learn to adapt until you can improve against those styles. Now, you may lose for a while, but in the long run it will pay huge dividends. Go ahead give it a shot and you'll learn what most successful people have learned... and that is they fail their way to success!