It isn't a big deal, the reality is that people care too much about winning. Find pleasure in playing points the way you constructed them, reward yourself for adapting to the opponent's play and ball quality. Use matches as input to grow over time. Losing is a powerful motivator.
There will always be someone to beat you. I am still at a point where I enjoy playing powerful shots. I can miss playing powerful shots, it is okay with me. The most important thing is to play the way I practice.
HI NL,
”losing is a powerful motivator”
Yesterday I played in a tournament run by one of the clubs I play at, to add some spice into the mix, they invited some players from another club that play in a different league, and whose players don’t play in our league. So some fresh opposition.
I my group, I had to play a player with a national ranking of 3.
under 11 girls!!!!, she is 10yrs old.
I remember being young - give me an inch - I’ll take a mile.
So I played to win. Not in a nasty way, I just played as if she was another opponent.
She is use to winning.
About Half way through the 2nd game she was holding back the tears, you feel really awkward that you are making her feel this way. She was making loads of errors receiving serve, loads of errors playing v backspin. She was down on herself.
Show 1 bit of kindness and she would have been mercilessly putting away balls left right and centre.
When she played the other players in the group, it was a similar story, close to tears.
Boy, has she got talent, give it another year and she’ll push me hard or beat me, 2yrs and it’ll be a forgone conclusion!!!
She also played in the handicap tournament which was after the scratch one, I got a glimpse of her 1st match, she battered her opponent!!! Poor old John didn’t know what hit him, table tennis balls mainly!!!
losing can be a VERY STRONG MOTIVATOR