Secrets of Spanish Tennis: Suffering

Nadal: a paragon of mental strength and the ability to suffer. After visiting academy after academy, and interviewing coach after coach, I was astounded at how one after another stressed the same principle: suffering. Suffering to the Spanish means mental toughness, perseverance, and a fighting spirit. It is part of the tennis culture and every young Spanish player is expected to learn to fight and suffer on the red clay-to never give up. Rafael Nadal demonstrates this mental strength perhaps better than any other professional player. Sometimes it seems Nadal likes to suffer! But all Spanish professionals are taught to be fighters who never give up on the court. If a Spanish guy is your opponent, you may be bigger or stronger, but you know you are in for a dogfight and that the Spaniard will not tank or give in. Whether in practice or in a match, the same willingness to suffer is demanded by Spanish coaches of their players. Said Albert Costa, "What I'm trying to do is make them think that everyday they have to do something else. If they go to the edge one day, the next day they have to go a bit farther. Every...