98. IT’S NOT OVER UNTIL IT’S OVER

As the saying goes, “the game isn’t over until it’s over” and how true that is! So if you plan to travel with a player and watch matches, don’t start planning your trip home until the last ball has hit the court and the the umpire has declared “Game, Set and Match,” as it is only at that point that you will know if your player remains in the tournament or is going home.

This is one of the things I love about tennis but it is also one of the things that causes me much stress when watching my player perform. You can think that your player has the match and then all of a sudden the score line swings the other way and you are packing your bags and booking flights home. This is especially true for matches which are decided by a tie break at 6 all in the third, or by a championship tie break in doubles matches. If a match ends on a tie break then the outcome can pretty much be determined by the toss of a coin! It’s a bit of a lottery who will win as although one player/pair may be better than the other, it is pretty much down to nerves and how they are handled more than skill.

Only recently I was court-side watching my player play a WTA doubles match in Budapest, Hungary. She and her partner were 1/6 0/5 15/40 down. Their opponents had 2 match points. It hadn’t been the best match, performance wise, so I was resigned to the fact that we were heading home. Then, all of a sudden, point by point, the match started to turn. 1/6 1/5…….1/6 2/5 ……. 1/6 3/5……. and so on. They won the second set 7/5 so now the match was level at one set all and it was “Game On”! A third set Championship Tie Break (to 10) would determine the match. By this time the psyche of the players on court had changed completely. From being down and out, my player and her partner were upbeat, full of energy and positivity, whilst their opponents were, understandably, somewhat shell shocked and defensive.

It’s not easy being the player/players who lose a match having had match points early on but in reality, most tennis players have been there and it’s part of the game. It hurts but it happens and I know only too well as it has happened to my player more times than I can recall. But that’s sport. The winners are the ones who handle the pressure better on the day. For a spectator (on site or remotely), it’s all part of the roller coaster of the tour and the incumbent stress that comes with being part of a player’s support team. Anyone who travels on the tour will player will know the feelings – the massive highs and the deep deep lows – they are part of the ‘job’ so to speak so be prepared!

#realitytennis

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