Quit and get loose

by Dennis
(Valley Village, CA)

My most memorable story about tennis is when I was matched up against a player that I knew to be better than me.

We were playing for a position on our high school tennis team. I had just formally gotten into tennis 6 months earlier from a coed tennis class that included the classic stand and swing tennis
instruction.

The only tennis experience I had prior to that was with playing with my friends on some college courts for the love of hitting the ball. I did win the coed class tournament.

Anyway...I knew that my opponent was one of the cleanest hitters I had ever seen. I always saw him hitting after school with other tennis players equally skilled...and I knew that he was constantly taking lessons...totally unthinkable for me in those days.

After I had won the class tournament I thought I was hot stuff...and the tennis teacher who was also the tennis team coach encouraged me to try out for the team.

The selection of the team was based on a tournament with a losers ladder. We had to survive to the round of 16 in the upper ladder or the quarters in the losers bracket.

I won my first two sets...we were playing one 8 game set...and was only 2 sets away from getting on the team. Then I realized that I had to play Howard...the kid with the lessons.

I don't remember the details of the early games...only that I was nervous... and I went in thinking that it was very unlikely that I could win. I was proven right...I played nervously and tense, I had no focus, no plan and certainly no confidence. Very shortly my opponent led 7 to 1.

I don't remember why but I told Howard that I was through and he had won...I insisted on giving up and quitting. He equally insisted that we play the last game...and after some more arguing...I gave in and agreed to finish.

Finally to the point of all this. After I had mentally quit I got to this space where I could finally relax and hit the ball. I expected nothing.

All of a sudden...I never played better. I could make no mistake. Everything went in...and to make a long story short I beat the guy 10-8, and eventually went on to make the team. I really impressed the coach with this win.

I learned from that point on that it was absolutely necessary for me to find that relaxed state and hit the ball as best I could without focusing on results and with a nothing to lose attitude.

Those principles always work...however, getting to that space is never a given.