The Will to Win
There is always such a focus on a tennis player’s strokes, technique, athlete ability, fitness, mental toughness, etc. The “will to win” is an often over-looked quality or attribute of many successful athletes and tennis champions. It’s not about the fact that most athletes
“hate to lose” and some are motivated by the fear of failure. The “will to win’ is innate and really can’t be taught. It relates to how tennis pros deal with adversity, poor performance and especially how they handle themselves and their games when they are coming back from injuries, down in a match or close to losing.
Think of Rafael Nadal, especially this summer as he returned to the Tour after ten weeks off to heal his knees, or Maria Sharapova, as she double-faulted games away for most of her comeback from shoulder surgery this past spring and summer until just very recently. In every match he plays, Nadal seems focused on each point and even when he is struggling with his strokes, as he was many times this past summer, Rafa continued to fight to the very end of every match, acting as if he believed that he could still win. Rafa seemed to approach his mistakes and injuries as obstacles to be overcome rather than insurmountable challenges. Sharapova was losing to Dominika Cibulkova 6-0, 5-0 at the 2009 French Open, but was still fighting and playing as if she expected she could win down to the last point. Players don’t always win despite possessing the “will to win,” but they definitely put up a stronger fight and come through at times when many expect them to lose. Sometimes players excel even more at a particular tournament. For example, there was Jimmy Connors at the U.S. Open and Bjorn Borg at Wimbledon where they seemed to win matches when they were down a set or two and destined to lose. Players can be “fighters,” but the “will to win” is slightly different in that it is an innate “belief” even more than an attitude which impacts a player’s approach to points and difficult moments in matches.
Think of Rafael Nadal, especially this summer as he returned to the Tour after ten weeks off to heal his knees, or Maria Sharapova, as she double-faulted games away for most of her comeback from shoulder surgery this past spring and summer until just very recently. In every match he plays, Nadal seems focused on each point and even when he is struggling with his strokes, as he was many times this past summer, Rafa continued to fight to the very end of every match, acting as if he believed that he could still win. Rafa seemed to approach his mistakes and injuries as obstacles to be overcome rather than insurmountable challenges. Sharapova was losing to Dominika Cibulkova 6-0, 5-0 at the 2009 French Open, but was still fighting and playing as if she expected she could win down to the last point. Players don’t always win despite possessing the “will to win,” but they definitely put up a stronger fight and come through at times when many expect them to lose. Sometimes players excel even more at a particular tournament. For example, there was Jimmy Connors at the U.S. Open and Bjorn Borg at Wimbledon where they seemed to win matches when they were down a set or two and destined to lose. Players can be “fighters,” but the “will to win” is slightly different in that it is an innate “belief” even more than an attitude which impacts a player’s approach to points and difficult moments in matches.
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