The Value of Optimism: Part 2: Brad Gilbert

Hope can be the basis for apparently miraculous wins.

The most valuable commodity a competitor can possess when things are going wrong is “hope.” Confidence or self-belief, as helpful as it may be, is not always achievable nor is it always realistic.

But hope is. Not only is hope realistic, it is always an available emotional state.

There is no rational reason to ever lose hope during the course of match play. The question of victory or defeat in a tennis match is always a matter of probabilities, not certainties.

Regardless of how far behind you may be, your probability of victory is never zero until the last point has been played or you quit. This is a consequence of the scoring system in tennis which requires winning the final point and makes protecting a lead impossible. (Click Here for more on that.)

Thus hope for victory is always reasonable. Maintaining hope under all circumstances is the true competitor’s unalterable obligation.

Getting behind in a tennis match is analogous to watching a door close. You have the option of looking at the part of the doorway that has been closed, or the part that is still open – even if…