Have you ever been satisfied by a loss?

Even if you lost a match, was there ever a time when you thought you played very well?

I lost a match today, but I'm overjoyed by how I played. The reason being? I hit forehand and backhand winners from everywhere..

Do you think I should stop being overjoyed and be a little more critical of myself?

Sure, as you play more tennis, you will play much better players, and if you do well, you should take note and be happy.
I was stoked to get one courtesy game against a 19 year old RussellSimpson way back when.

There's definitely a good way to lose, IMO. I if lose a match by serving well and winning points at net then I wouldn't mind a loss if my opponent just beat me by just being better. Obviously the goal should always be to win though.

Now, if I lose a match by double faulting a lot and missing easy volleys...........................

I haven't made a single net approach nor has my opponent.

I should have gone to the net more.

Look to approach on shots that hit around the service line or shorter. Don't try to force it.

Sometimes I've been satisfied with a loss and sometimes I've been disappointed with how I've played in a win. A close win against a terrible player can shake up your confidence. But sometimes a loss doesn't feel so bad if I accomplished what I'd been working on. For example, I recall working alot on my smash and was successful with every smash in a match. Even though I lost, I was still happy that the smashing practice showed improvement.

yeah the last match I lost my goal was to cut down on my double faults, which i did. once the point started i got killed because my groundstrokes were terrible that day but i was really happy with my serve!

Yeah, the serve really gets in my head if I'm not hitting it well. It's hard for me to put the shanks out of my mind and just hit the darned thing.

It's painful but yes, many times.

If beaten by a better player I'm just happy to be able to play with him.

If beaten by a equal opponent, then it's a "I could have done better bitter pill".

If beaten by someone I've SHOULD have taken out. It's the worst but even more important experience that I LET him win but in all fairness he did win.

I'm only been playing for bout 6 months with a coach so I'm really happy to just be playing in the first place.

mawashi

definitely, play better players and you get beaten but play well then there is no shame at all. i lost 7/6 7/6 to a player ranked higher then me when i lost 6/3 6/3 in the first round against him so much happier with the result

the only way i would feel angry about a loss is if i lose by making tons of double falts and UE. but other than that, i feel ok after a loss. not that i enjoy losing though xD. but i know i learn more from a loss than from a win.

ronalditop said:

the only way i would feel angry about a loss is if i lose by making tons of double falts and UE. but other than that, i feel ok after a loss. not that i enjoy losing though xD. but i know i learn more from a loss than from a win.

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Double faults are the ultimate buzz kill for me as well.

One time I played a 4.0 player at a tournament. I thought the match was going to be in the evening, but the director left messages I didn't get. 8:30am the director calls me and tells me the match is at 9:30am. I had to bathe, gather my senses, and then get to the tournament. Add to that I'm a 3.5 player and I was thinking I am so screwed.

I played my opponent and the sun was just beating both of us as the match went on. We had numerous 30+ stroke rallies, neither guy seemed eager to serve hard, I hit quite a few solid backhands, and when all was said and done I lost 6-4 6-4. I wasn't even upset which was unusual. I actually felt like I had come quite a ways in improving elements of my game. Both sets went 4-4 where I got broken and the guy held.

Since that match as well as a few humbling losses and wins, my forehand has improved considerably (stuck with the extreme eastern grip, not trying to generate mad topspin so I can focus on generating pace hitting flatter, stepping into my shot more fluidly), the kick serve has become one of my first serve options (still can't trust it for 2nd serves), and I got some experience playing against other 4.0 players (got my butt whooped but I fought).

Another time was when I played a 4.5 player and lost 6-1 6-1. I broke his serve once and 7 of those games went to deuce. I felt lousy at first, but in reality I was not expecting to win and I did force him to hit some great shots.

Djokovicfan4life said:

Yeah, the serve really gets in my head if I'm not hitting it well. It's hard for me to put the shanks out of my mind and just hit the darned thing.

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yeah, if i play a solid match and lose, i tend to be okay with it.

oneguy21 said:

Even if you lost a match, was there ever a time when you thought you played very well?

I lost a match today, but I'm overjoyed by how I played. The reason being? I hit forehand and backhand winners from everywhere..

Do you think I should stop being overjoyed and be a little more critical of myself?

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Yes, many times. Especially when I executed well on a part of my game that was giving me problems and through practice was trying to shore up.

If I got five points off of Federer in a match, I would be pretty excited.

Played a match out of our district once..a much stronger opponent..I thought I was going to cremated 6-0 6-0..but, I kept up, had some break chances and solid ralleys, and lost 6-4 7-5. So I wasn't too disappointed.

I think one of the mis-perception people get about satisfactory-loss is that they hit a lot of winners while making a lot of unnecessary unforced errors going for the shot. They only remember good shots, forgetting unforced errors.

If the scores are pretty close, they are under the preception that they played great but lost...

This should be avoided at all cost, I think.

oneguy21 said:

Have you ever been satisfied by a loss?

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I don't know. But I'll let you know as soon as it happens.

That happens a lot to me. But, i tend to be unbalanced, playing lik crap in a lot of matches. I always lose in the third set when playing someone better than me, but i allways win in a tiebreaker against someone thats worse than me

Of course, if you are playing against a better player and you are giving him a run for his money. Even if you lose you could feel happy about the way you've played.

of course i've had a few matches where I played as well as possible and still lost..walk away feeling good about my game but ok that I lost and goals for the future