Top Excuses For Losing In Tennis

I just suffered a devastating (in my mind anyway) loss this past week. I was on a 7 match winning streak when I was blown off the court 6-1, 6-0 in a doubles match. I have a good excuse - it was my partner's fault.

And that brings me to the subject of today's post - a list of the top excuses for losing in tennis.  Let me preface all of this by saying - I get it.  Making excuses as to why I lost a match says a lot more about my psychological issues than my partner's lack of game.  But, right now, I don't care.  It is going to take a while for me to just let go of this particular defeat.  So, here is a handy list of excuses, ones we've all heard that can work for almost any loss you ever experience.  Keep this list handy for when you lose that difficult match and you just can't let go. 

1. "I've hurt my (fill in the name of body part) and it's killing me. I'm going to see an orthopedic doctor next week and hopefully getting an MRI." Maybe it's the shoulder. Maybe it's the knee. Or the back. Or the wrist. Just fill in the blank. Everyone else always seems to have an injury so why shouldn't you?

2. "Gosh, I'm can't believe I'm so bad today! I never play like this!" This one's great if you're the passive-aggressive type.  You focus attention on your own unexplainably poor play rather than your opponent's terrific play.  This one is used again and again by Serena Williams so I don't see why you and I can't throw it around too.

3. "I'm really terrible today because I haven't played in (fill in some amount of time)." It could be years, months, weeks, days or even hours. Because we all know that if you don't play tennis every single day, you're not up to par.  In my case, I have been known to put it this way: "If I don't play on a daily basis, I can't even get to mediocre."

4. "There's just too much noise in here." Oh my goodness, do I love playing indoors!  Because there is a never ending stream of excuses to justify your losses on an indoor court.  Noise levels are just one of the many, many excuses you can use.  The converse of this excuse can also work: "It's just too quiet in here!"

5. "The lighting in here is too dark (or too bright or just too weird)." Another fabulous excuse for losing an indoor match.  Although, don't underestimate the value of this excuse for outdoor matches on a sunny day, an overcast day or even in the evening. 

6. "It was my partner's fault." In a doubles match, this has absolutely got to be the Number 1 most called-upon excuse to justify a loss. It's the one I'm going with to explain the snap of my winning streak. I mean, as long as there weren't too many witnesses around, it's just my word against my partner's, right?



This post originally appeared on Tennis Fixation's blog page on the Tennis Now website. Click here to read this and other great Tennis Fixation posts on Tennis Now!




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