How do you prefer losing?

[beltsman]

Of course no one likes losing, but how do you prefer it?

Getting blasted off the court by a superior player? A pro side of this is that mentally you can tell yourself "well nothing I could do, he was just better." A con is that nobody wants to get destroyed.

Self-destructing with UE's and handing over the match? A pro of this is that you can tell yourself "match was still on my racquet," but a con is that it is incredibly frustrating to make errors and lose because of it.

Playing well but choking? Pro: You played well and got to the finish line but just couldn't quite do it. Con: It's choking! You were so close! You had it!

Or more specifically, how do you prefer the last point to go in a loss? Would you rather see an ace go past you for the loss because all you can do is shrug your shoulders and say nicely done? Or would you rather have a chance in the rally to save yourself, but lose it with an error?

 

[winstonlim8]

I don't mind getting blasted off the court by a better player in singles. It just motivates me to train and try harder next time. I don't mind losing to pushers, dingdongpingpongers or anybody else if I have given it the best effort I could. It just means that they were better or smarter and I have to be both better and smarter next time.

But I do really and truly hate losing because my blood sugar suddenly drops and I play like a1.5 beginner or my legs and hands suddenly feel like jelly.

And I absolutely abhor losing to dingledonglepingleponglers in doubles because I am forced to partner someone who thinks dingledonglepinglepongling is the best strategy for us, too.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

And I absolutely abhor losing to dingledonglepingleponglers in doubles because I am forced to partner someone who thinks dingledonglepinglepongling is the best strategy for us, too.

As a ping pong player also, the notion that ping pong is two people standing nearly stationary batting the ball back and forth at 5mph is not completely correct. When my friends and I play, you're going to get the ball smashed at you at maybe 70mph but remember the table is only 9' long. That ain't a lot of reaction time. Translates well to quick-volleying in tennis.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

It's easier psychologically to get one's butt kicked. It's better for one's tennis development to either suffer the UEs or the choke because then you have something concrete to work on. Guess it depends on how mentally strong I feel that day!

 

[browndav]

I've had a few matches over the years where I've played players that should have double bageled me, but I played out of my mind and lost 6-4, 6-3 or something like that. That's the best feeling type of loss for me.

 

[onehandbh]

If I must lose, then preferably in a match against Federer or Wawrinka.

 

[winstonlim8]

As a ping pong player also, the notion that ping pong is two people standing nearly stationary batting the ball back and forth at 5mph is not completely correct. When my friends and I play, you're going to get the ball smashed at you at maybe 70mph but remember the table is only 9' long. That ain't a lot of reaction time. Translates well to quick-volleying in tennis.

My sincere apologies. I hadn't meant any insult to ping-pong players. As someone who never managed to learn the game because I never had the hand-eye coordination or reflexes to hit that tiny ball at anything approaching those speeds, you have my utmost respect.

I use dingdongpingpong to describe the kind of tennis game where two or four people stand at the baseline and hit ten-foot high "drives" until one of them hits out or into the net. I never meant it as a comment about ping-pong.

Perhaps I should stick to dingdonglepinglepongle to avoid insulting ping-pong players again in future.

 

[floridatennisdude]

I'd much rather lose to a superior player when I play at my top level. It proves to me where my game is, what deficiencies I have to overcome, and what my strengths are compared to someone else. I don't care whether that is because the guy blew winners by me or if he dinked and dropped shot after shot. My opinion, if they can do it....I need to be able to counter it. If I can't, then they are better.

Losing to an opponent due to my unforced mistakes, otherwise knows as low level of play, only frustrates me. It leaves me wondering what if. Kind of an empty feeling.

 

[mikeler]

I don't mind losing if I play well. It's almost more satisfying losing and playing well then winning ugly.

 

[winstonlim8]

Same here.

 

[penpal]

I think almost all losses are good learning opportunities. If I am beat soundly, I learn something about what I'll need to work on to play better against an opponent like that in the future. If I lose on my own UEs, I have some information on strokes/strategy I need to work on. Even if I lose because my legs turn to jelly, I learn I need to focus on fitness.

The only types of losses I hate are:

• Lost because I was hurt during the match and so wasn't able to perform fully, but was still able to finish.
• Total destruction blowouts, where I really shouldn't have even been playing the person because he is so much better. Nothing much to learn if I can't even legitimately hit with him, and I feel bad for wasting his time.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

My sincere apologies. I hadn't meant any insult to ping-pong players. As someone who never managed to learn the game because I never had the hand-eye coordination or reflexes to hit that tiny ball at anything approaching those speeds, you have my utmost respect.

I use dingdongpingpong to describe the kind of tennis game where two or four people stand at the baseline and hit ten-foot high "drives" until one of them hits out or into the net. I never meant it as a comment about ping-pong.

Perhaps I should stick to dingdonglepinglepongle to avoid insulting ping-pong players again in future.

No worries, mate! A lot of people just don't realize how much skill it takes to play [insert your favorite sport that few know how to play well here].

 

[Doc Hollidae]

As long as I played my best I don't mind losing and will take it as a learning experience. The only losses I don't take well are when I get bageled.

 

[winstonlim8]

No worries, mate! A lot of people just don't realize how much skill it takes to play [insert your favorite sport that few know how to play well here].

My problem is I do know how difficult it is to play any sport. Like I have said before, I have a lot of medical problems. Since from very young and no matter which sport I tried I always sucked at it. There was a time when I gave up on any kind of sporting activity for 30 years but ballooned into a mini replica of the old 256lb me. That was when I knew I had to start playing something again, no matter how badly.

Tennis is/was the only sport where I could run and hit something without falling over or otherwise hurting myself. That's why I take it very seriously.

As I said earlier in this thread, I don't mind losing 6-0 6-0 if I feel that I played well, and that's because I've had a lot of experience that way.

I only really get mad at losing for the reasons I stated in my earlier post because it's frustrating for me when, no matter how carefully I prepare, my blood sugar still goes haywire about 30 minutes into play. Sometimes it doesn't until the match is nearly over. I've lost count of the number of times I had match point or was close to match point and then lost 4 or more consecutive games and the match because my blood sugar chose that moment to plummet.

Oh, and about dingledonglepinglepongle players, I do understand that they probably can't play any other way because that's probably the upper limit of their skill set or their natural mindset (and I don't mind playing singles with them because they give me plenty of time to reach the ball and hit it properly) but what I can't understand is why they don't want to try to play better for whatever reason when they don't have the kind of medical problems I do.

I can't recall if I have ever said this before but I don't play serve-volley only just because I enjoy it or have a naturally aggressive mindset on-court. I don't have the kind of physique to play it well or the natural coordination either. But it's the fastest way to keep points, games and matches short with the least amount of exertion so I am stuck with it.

The good thing is, I am also learning how to do it better within the limits of my condition so every game is a learning experience for me. Even those where I lose 6-0 6-0.

 

[Bionic slice]

In Singles...
I would say " a dogfight" , even with my best effort but on that day, it wasnt good enough to get the win. I would say this kind of beat down has really taught me about my flaws in my game and how to play better. This is best way to lose.

Worst way....I hate losing when you are on fire and in the zone in the 1st set playing in singles,crushing this guy, you are loving life.. and then you start well in the 2nd, your up and then your opponent find his groove, or decides to go for broke on every shot, your shots arent effective, and you start seeing their highlight reel live on the court, you start mentally saying WTF!!! I have lost 1 match this way in 3 set tiebreaker, like 15-13. It sucks....and I have won and lost these kind of matches. I have actually survived 2 matches and regained my edge in 3rd set tiebreakers.

In Dubs, nothing worse is when its not in your control as you reply on your partner. I am very competitive and then having your teammate not able to help you win. They cant help at the net with simple shots or cant serve a ball in the court or cant put away shots you set them up with.

 

[Mr.Lob]

In Dubs, nothing worse is when its not in your control as you reply on your partner. I am very competitive and then having your teammate not able to help you win. They cant help at the net with simple shots or cant serve a ball in the court or cant put away shots you set them up with.

As primarily a doubles player, I can relate with the above. I almost never say anything negative to a partner, but actually screamed out in agony after one partner repeatedly made errors at the net on easy sitters. I had to play it off as a joke.

 

[PDJ]

I prefer losing knowing I've done my best, run my hardest and exhausting all strategies to attempt a win/salvage pride.

 

[PDJ]

In Singles...
I would say " a dogfight" , even with my best effort but on that day, it wasnt good enough to get the win. I would say this kind of beat down has really taught me about my flaws in my game and how to play better. This is best way to lose.

Worst way....I hate losing when you are on fire and in the zone in the 1st set playing in singles,crushing this guy, you are loving life.. and then you start well in the 2nd, your up and then your opponent find his groove, or decides to go for broke on every shot, your shots arent effective, and you start seeing their highlight reel live on the court, you start mentally saying WTF!!! I have lost 1 match this way in 3 set tiebreaker, like 15-13. It sucks....and I have won and lost these kind of matches. I have actually survived 2 matches and regained my edge in 3rd set tiebreakers.

In Dubs, nothing worse is when its not in your control as you reply on your partner. I am very competitive and then having your teammate not able to help you win. They cant help at the net with simple shots or cant serve a ball in the court or cant put away shots you set them up with.

I'm the complete opposite to you regarding singles.
I never worry if I'm blitzed in the first- I have been many times- but I just start the second set as a new set and hope that I've learnt enough from the first to change the pattern and keep it tight and rely on my mental strength and my opponents fragility to crack. If it goes to a third I rarely lose (about one in twenty matches) because more often than not said opponent breaks down and rues opportunities missed.
I honestly subscribe to the view its not over until the last point.
Doubles- what really irritates me is lack of strategy. I've lost count of how many times I've said to a partner if I hit wide they must cover their tram.... and yet they don't, and are constantly surprised when the ball is put past them......

 

[Deleted member 23235]

I hate any loss where I'm not playing my best, and making way more Unforced errors than usual...
I've been breadsticked and maybe bagelled, before, where I still thought I played decently... (losing via winners or forced errors)

 

[winstonlim8]

I'd much rather lose to a superior player when I play at my top level. It proves to me where my game is, what deficiencies I have to overcome, and what my strengths are compared to someone else. I don't care whether that is because the guy blew winners by me or if he dinked and dropped shot after shot. My opinion, if they can do it....I need to be able to counter it. If I can't, then they are better.

Losing to an opponent due to my unforced mistakes, otherwise knows as low level of play, only frustrates me. It leaves me wondering what if. Kind of an empty feeling.

Yes, I can understand all of this because it sounds so familiar. I guess if we haven't given up tennis out of sheer frustration by now, it must mean it's made us stronger.

In Dubs, nothing worse is when its not in your control as you reply on your partner. I am very competitive and then having your teammate not able to help you win. They cant help at the net with simple shots or cant serve a ball in the court or cant put away shots you set them up with.

Doubles- what really irritates me is lack of strategy. I've lost count of how many times I've said to a partner if I hit wide they must cover their tram.... and yet they don't, and are constantly surprised when the ball is put past them......

And that's why when I am forced to play doubles nowadays, more often than not I regard the whole unpleasant experience as nothing more than the opportunity to practice all my singles game strategies and set pieces.

If my partner can't be bothered to learn to play doubles properly, I am no longer the nice guy who is going to risk injury and high blood pressure (I have the opposite problem actually but some partners...Aaaaagh!!!) trying to do so.

On the other hand, I enjoy playing Mixed because most of the ladies I play with actually enjoy putting the ball away at the net. Even the 2.5 ladies! So I don't blame them or get frustrated when they miss or dump the ball into the net. I'd rather have my partner go for her shot and make a mistake than stay back and dingledonglepinglepongle until the cows come home.

 

[Bionic slice]

whats pingpong or dingledonglepingleponglers tennis?

 

[winstonlim8]

Ping-pong or table tennis - where two or four players hit a small ball with small bats across a 9' table at high speed until one player hits an unreturnable shot or the ball goes out or into the net
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_tennis

Dingledonglepinglepongle - where two or four players lob the ball to each other across a tennis court until the ball goes out or into the net. Sorry there's no Wikipedia entry for it because it's aficionados will never admit they play that way. They prefer the term "enjoyable rallies".

 

[Bionic slice]

In Dubs
I also really hate when you are partnered with a new guy you have never played with before. The worst guy i played with thinks he is professional coach and I'm his new student. This clown wants to tell you how to play and where to stand all match long. I felt like I needed to give this guy some large chalk and let him mark the court. This Pendejo(i said it!!) is telling you everything you are doing wrong and wont acknowledge any of his own mistakes. I've played with this kind of jerk and against this kind of guy yelling at his partner. I hate these situations.

I'm all about winning and that is my goal to win as i am a competitive sob!! I love playing offensive tennis. So.. you my partner ...want to try a strategy, sure, lets try it!!! I'm game. But if it isn't working. We need to stop with that formation or your Zen master idea mr professional coach.


To the dingledonglepingleponglers, i always called them the SLC's....Senior Lob Squad.

 

[winstonlim8]

In Dubs
I also really hate when you are partnered with a new guy you have never played with before. The worst guy i played with thinks he is professional coach and I'm his new student. This clown wants to tell you how to play and where to stand all match long. I felt like I needed to give this guy some large chalk and let him mark the court. This Pendejo(i said it!!) is telling you everything you are doing wrong and wont acknowledge any of his own mistakes. I've played with this kind of jerk and against this kind of guy yelling at his partner. I hate these situations.

I'm all about winning and that is my goal to win as i am a competitive sob!! I love playing offensive tennis. So.. you my partner ...want to try a strategy, sure, lets try it!!! I'm game. But if it isn't working. We need to stop with that formation or your Zen master idea mr professional coach.


To the dingledonglepingleponglers, i always called them the SLC's....Senior Lob Squad.

Who I get one of these, I'll listen if what he's saying makes sense but if he's just mouthing off and flubbing just as much as me, I won't hesitate to tell him to mind his own business.

At the other club where I play, the members call dingledonglepingleponglers "lobsters".

 

[winstonlim8]

That said, I think a loss no matter how one sided the score, where you actually learn something about how to improve your own game, isn't a completely bad one.

 

[heninfan99]

I prefer losing in doubles. More people to blame.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

In Dubs
I also really hate when you are partnered with a new guy you have never played with before. The worst guy i played with thinks he is professional coach and I'm his new student. This clown wants to tell you how to play and where to stand all match long. I felt like I needed to give this guy some large chalk and let him mark the court.

Take the chalk and mark an outline of a body like they do at crime scenes and tell your new-found coach to instruct the outline. Then sit down and wait for the next set.

 

[chatt_town]

Of course no one likes losing, but how do you prefer it?

Getting blasted off the court by a superior player? A pro side of this is that mentally you can tell yourself "well nothing I could do, he was just better." A con is that nobody wants to get destroyed.

Self-destructing with UE's and handing over the match? A pro of this is that you can tell yourself "match was still on my racquet," but a con is that it is incredibly frustrating to make errors and lose because of it.

Playing well but choking? Pro: You played well and got to the finish line but just couldn't quite do it. Con: It's choking! You were so close! You had it!

Or more specifically, how do you prefer the last point to go in a loss? Would you rather see an ace go past you for the loss because all you can do is shrug your shoulders and say nicely done? Or would you rather have a chance in the rally to save yourself, but lose it with an error?

I prefer it be like last night. I lost in a indoor christmas tourney in a 3 set breaker 10-8. I was down 2-6 and 1-4 and won 5 straight games to win the set...I just missed a few shots here and there and lost the breaker. I'd rather lose knowing I had a chance and it was my fault as opposed to playing some guy that was 3 levels better getting his rocks off. I lost in the finals of Mobile in November in a third set...7-6,6-7 6 0...uggh...and the 6-0 was about as long as the first two sets. I didn't change what I was doing but he did...so I learned from that and that's how I got back in the match last night. I'll take this into the new year.

 

[North]

Blasted off the court by a much better player. With an opponent of roughly similar ability, I have no control over whether I win or lose even if I play brilliantly. What I CAN control is playing to the absolute best of my ability and mentality for that match. I could still lose - points here and there going one way or another - but it wouldn't be because I failed myself and I would be satisfied I played my best.

 

[edathompson2]

When I was single the best way I could lose was as follows. Down 10-9 in tie break. Ball is served to me. Out of now where 10 female swim suit models tackles me, ripping my clothes off, and begin taking advantage of me.

Best way to lose I can think of.

 

[norcal]

After being married for 20+ years the best way I could lose was as follows. Down 10-9 in tie break. Ball is served to me. Out of now where 10 female swim suit models tackles me, ripping my clothes off, and begin taking advantage of me.

Best way to lose I can think of.

Fixed for me.

Seriously though, playing a good player close and giving yourself the chance to win is a good way to lose for me.

Worst is not making the needed adjustments to defeat a beatable opponent.

 

[Nacho]

I prefer a tight match, good, close points, lots of hard hitting, and good sportsmanship. When I lose a match like that I have victories...I can't stand losing to someone inferior who hits junk, or getting blown off the court because I wasn't prepared.

 

[beernutz]

I like to lose by default because I was picking up my winning lottery check.