Making a Winning Impression

Sometimes in life it's not about "winning" but about making a "winning impression." I just played a tennis pro-am (where a tennis professional like me partners with an amateur player) last Saturday evening. I was matched up with a high school senior who plays #1 on his high school team.

Although we never met we had good karma. When I first met him that night I noticed we both play with the same racquet - a Prince Exo Rebel is what it's called. Told him right away that we had good karma and were destined to win.

We won four matches going into the finals, where we lost 6 games to 4 games. This was a very close and competitive final since there was only one service break.

My goal going into the tournament was to win it but something more important happened. I made a winning impression on my partner, the high school senior. You see, I noticed that on some shots he would get a bit down on himself so my focus became more on keeping everything positive and inspiring each other to play solid tennis. We played well the whole evening but were just outplayed on the big points in the finals.

To my surprise I received an email the next day that was worth more to me than winning in the finals.

"Mr. Rossetti i wanted to thank you again for your time on Saturday night. Playing doubles with you gave me an experience that was unbelievable and i would hope to be able to do it again in the future. I felt lucky standing aside you on a tennis court and exchanging words with you. It was by far the most enjoyable time i have ever had playing tennis with someone, and i know I could only say that about playing with you. Your love for the game and passion for what you do gives me motivation in playing tennis. I have never met someone in my life that has the same enthusiasm for tennis as you do, and i cannot thank you enough for taking your time to play with me. Thanks again for an awesome night of tennis and hope to see you again soon."

Sometimes when you lose you win....

I hope that you receive an email like this after "losing" like the fans that the Canadian ice skater won over when she won a silver medal only 4 days after her mother died.

Suggested Reading
Winning with Integrity by Leigh Steinberg