How much do you hate losing?

[will3689]

Just played a match in my local tennis league and lost two very close sets and had two set points in the second set but bottled them both. I know we play this game for fun and i did really enjoy the match but i cant stop thinking about them two set points and what i shoud have done differntly. Was thinking does anyone else lose sleep over losing a match or is this just me?

[IA-SteveB]

I tend not to. The only time I ever do is if I know I played bad due to silly unforced errors and concentration issues. If I help myself lose the match, I will stew about it for a bit and try to figure out what was causing me to not execute.

Don't get me wrong, I do like to win but losing doesn't hurt that bad if I can learn something from it and work on it.

[LeeD]

I only care about how I play.
Winning or losing matters little.
If I make a bunch of mistakes and win, it's cause for concern.
If I play really well and lose badly, no biggee, that means the opponent just played better.

[will3689]

Yes this is true actually. Im mainly mad with myself cos of the things i could have done better especially on the set points not particularly the loss.

[gavna]

I hate losing more than I like winning......(yes I stole that line but love it!)

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by gavna

I hate losing more than I like winning......(yes I stole that line but love it!)

That line is accurate for me.

[LeeD]

I think my thoughts came from a background of team sports and real individual sports, where your performance is more important than what you do to interact with other's.
Team sports, you do your 1/5th, or 1/11ths. ONE mistake from any of the guys can lose it for the team.
Individual sports, like surfing, skiing, and motocross, is dependent on your performance, the other guys matter little or nothing. Sure, they can crash you out, they can get in your way, but that's incidental contact.
Even in golf, what YOU do is what matters. Don't matter if your foursome is comprised of one Lefty, one hottie, and one duffer. What YOU do is what counts.
Same as in tennis. If I play well, I can easily play strong 4.5.
If I suck as usual, I can peek down into 3.5 with a good look.

[will3689]

Also depends on who im playing i guess. Some people i just couldnt stand losing too and some are not as bad. Tennis is deffo a tough sport to lose at cos its one on one. Team sports are not as bad

[dizzlmcwizzl]

I tend not to focus on having lost when I lose. Rather I usually focus on the root cause of the problem ... ie. returns, fitness etc.

I actually wish I played a more competitive collection of opponents so I would lose a little more often. If so, I would focus on improvement in my game more. When I manage to win ugly it does not have the same motivational factor as loosing does.

[cluckcluck]

I used to care a lot about loosing, but as I have gotten older, I really don't care about it anymore. I just try to go out and hit my shots.
Loosing sucks, there's no two ways about that; but it's the way you handle yourself after you loose that counts. Congratulate your opponent and work on your game for the next time you play a match.

[LeeD]

IF any of you care much about winning, go out and play lousy players every match. That gives you a better chance of winning.
OR, you can play against BETTER players as often as possible, giving you a great chance to lose, but also a chance to improve your tennis.

[dlam]

Originally Posted by gavna

I hate losing more than I like winning......(yes I stole that line but love it!)

This true for me as well.
Some days when I like winning more than hate losing then I will play more of a net game than a baseline game.

[Fuji]

It depends on who I'm hitting with. I practice a lot with top level guys, so I don't mind losing to them as I really expect to take my lumps from them when they heat it up.

That being said I now despise losing to people at my level. It drives me up the wall. I used to play only for fun, but now that I'm able to hang with guys who are better, it kills me inside to lose to people at my level.

Stupid mentality? I think so. Does it motivate me to work harder and make sure I don't lose? Yes.

To me now, losing sucks and I definitely go through the replays in my head. I have a check list that I use religiously after every time I have a match on what I did, what I didn't do, and what I can do to improve that. It's a bit extreme, but it helps.

-Fuji

[chippy17]

I lose so often i don't mind anymore

[Alchemy-Z]

I don't mind losing to a great player and I enjoy the chance to play them and improve my game.

I hate giving a match away because I am playing horrible...not only is it a loss but I feel like I need to apologize for such a poor performance.

[GlennK]

I don't like to lose but I have never lost sleep over a loss.

As others have stated, playing opponents with more skill than you helps you to improve. It also means you will lose more often than not.

[anubis]

I only dislike losing when it's my fault. If I "handed the game" to my opponent by hitting tons of UEs, then I can feel pretty down in the dumps.

On the flip side, I also dislike winning if I didn't try very hard, if I got tired or desperate or whatever and just started to push, or otherwise be "gentle" with the ball.

[cknobman]

How much do I hate losing?

Ask my 20+ broken racquets.

[LeeD]

I watched as an A player, playing in the finals, smashed TWO of his rackets during the changeover. He was winning 6-2, 5-2 at the time. He ended up winning the tourney with a 6-4 in the second set.
He complained about his lack of fire, his slow prep, and his mishits from the start of his warmup.
His opponent was a pusher who shouldn't have gotten that far.

[Tmano]

I don't go crazy if I loose but what I care more about is to win playing well, the way I want. if I win without playing at least close to good I'm kind of disappointed.