After working with pro players you start to realise the traits, behaviours and mindset of the world's best. One story that comes to mind when I think about this, is something that happened to me during a quarter final match in Italy.
It was a close match. An important match - the quarterfinals of a big event. My player had fought hard and was up set point in the first. He worked the point beautifully, got the shot he wanted, stepped in for a backhand down the line and… missed it by an inch. He continued to fight, but ended up losing the set in a tie breaker and then he lost the second set narrowly as well.
It was tough. We were both disappointed, but as is the way in tennis, when you lose in one tournament there is usually another one right after to prepare for, and we were off to Morocco that night. But our flight didn’t leave until 10pm so we went to have dinner in the clubhouse first. While we ate, we reflected on the match. And we talked about that one shot. The backhand line on set point that might have changed the whole match.
It was 6pm. Our flight left in 4 hours. My player was tired and disappointed. But he finished his pasta, looked at me and said, ‘Yeah, I need to work on that.’
The Pursuit of Excellence
Twenty minutes later he was back in his tennis clothes, on court. The courts had no lights, so with a courtesy car parked at the back fence, its high beams on, I fed him ball after ball to the backhand. We worked on that backhand line for about an hour, until we got it right. Then we packed up, got changed and went straight to the airport.
And as I sat in the lounge waiting to board, I realised this was the level of dedication. This was the pursuit of excellence that some players were willing to strive for to be great.
Putting in the Extra Work
When you see firsthand the effort and work that the best players in the world put in, it's no accident they are at such an elite level. Many talented players stay good because they're not willing to put in that extra work to become great.
If you want to become a professional tennis player, you need to ask yourself this question:
Am I prepared to put in the work and do what it takes to get there?
Because there are players out there that are, and that's what separates the good from the great.
Regards,
Marc Sophoulis