I have been following one particular tennis player whom I find incredible talented, Dustin Brown. A guy who can beat a top ten player anytime and lose against a top 1000 anytime. For my kids I use this particular player as the best example of “unpredictability”. All tennis players need a good dose of unpredictability and this player has loads of it. The problem I see is that; though this superb unpredictability is an asset that even the best players don’t have, if not properly handled this same skill turns into your worst enemy.

Javier Palenque

The second lesson from this particular player is that; though he may be very talented, it serves very little if he does not win. On the woman’s side there is another player with this same level of talent and poor results, Camila Giorgi. When one sees Brown or Giorgi play, and compares them with someone like: David Ferrer, who is probably the best tennis player in the tour who is not a genius. One can only conclude that hard work will always beat talent. These two players are proof of that talent though important, if not used properly it is better to have less of it and win. Than to have loads of it and not.

The third lesson is you must win and use you tennis talent to actually win or the tour just becomes an uphill financial, and mental drain. I have seen him at Delray on February 15 and today is March 24th, a grand total of 38 days between tournaments. He has played, Delray, Indian Wells, Irving Challenger and the Miami Open. In all four tournaments he lost in the first round or qualifier rounds. In the past 38 days he has played a total of 5 matches and made Delray $4,800.00; Indian Wells $10,400; Irving Texas $1,300; Miami approx. $2,000.00 , the sum of $18,500.00 at first this may seem like a lot but one has to consider that the year has only 11 months, for an argument let’s say he makes this amount for 11 months. Then his pay would be $203,500.00. This may seem like a reasonable amount but, if you add: taxes, travel, insurance, strings, sparring partner, hotels etc. This amount of money is simply not enough. If you lose in the first round often, you cannot afford a coach or a physical trainer.

If you lose you have only played in 38 days 5 competitive matches compared to someone who wins who could play easily 20 matches.

So, after playing for 38 days you barely have any money and actually have very little competitive tennis. Contrasting that, with a player who wins; they have 400% more matches, easily 400% more money and can easily afford a team of everything. This is brutally hard. Add those stats to the next few months and you are starting the next month with less competitive play, less money and less of a chance to win.

So, what to do? In the brutal game of tennis, where all the riches go to the top. There is only one thing to do. WIN. So, coaches, how are you instilling the drive, discipline, dedication, mental toughness and skills to your kids so they have a winning chance in this brutal game we all love. If you are not working on this, then you are not preparing your kids for the wild world of “you eat what you catch” of tennis”.

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