Most world-class athletes create the appearance they have never struggled with winning and losing during their careers. A closer look shows that is not the case.
Consider the case of Gabriela Sabitini. Sabatini reached number 3 in the world, but never attained the top ranking. Dealing with the challenges of winning and losing may have prevented her from reaching the top spot.
About a year and a half ago Sport 24 reported that winning and losing did not come easy for Sabitini. At times she creatively took the easy way out. She intentionally lost matches as a junior player to avoid having to talk to reporters.
“When I was younger and thought that I had to talk after winning a tournament, I often lost in the semifinals so I did not have to. It was that bad!” Sabatini told the Argentine newspaper La Nacion.
“I was very introverted. I had some issues at school because I was very inward-looking,” she said.
Sabatini, now 43, said her shyness was a major problem.
“I got very nervous at that point. But at the same time I was very competitive and I got frustrated when I did not win,” she said.
“I might lose the first set, when I was little, and I gave up on the match just because I was so angry that I could not bear having lost the first set.”
“I think my fame and my public profile had something to do with the fact that I did not become world number one.
“I loved to play, I was competitive, I wanted to win, that was all I knew. In the first few years tennis was a game. Later, it becomes a job,” she said. (October 18, 2013 http://www.sport24.co.za/)
The story about Sabitini’s challenges with winning and losing is old news, but the saga of athletes struggling to deal with winning and losing is an ongoing story for junior and world-class athletes in all sports.
How do you deal with winning and losing?
