THE REAL PROBLEM ISN’T PLAYING BADLY. IT’S HOW LONG IT TAKES YOU TO PLAY WELL AGAIN.

After Iga Swiatek’s loss to Alexandra Eala at Wimbledon, Agnieszka Radwanska made a comment that, in my opinion, was far more valuable than any technical analysis. She didn’t focus on the first-set tie-break. She didn’t talk about Swiatek’s forehand, her backhand, or her tactical decisions. Instead, she pointed to one very specific moment of the match: the beginning of the second set. After losing a fiercely contested opening set, Swiatek immediately lost her first two service games and found herself trailing 3-0 within minutes. Radwanska described that stretch as “worrying” and then said something every competitive tennis player should remember: “At that level, you can’t have so many ups and downs.”

The more I think about those words, the more I believe they describe one of the most important principles in competitive tennis. Many players believe their level is defined by the best shots they are capable of producing. They focus on hitting a bigger serve, a heavier forehand, or a more consistent backhand. Of course, those things matter. But matches are rarely decided by your highest level. More often than not, they are decided by how long your lowest level lasts.

Imagine two players. The first competes at an eight out of ten for the entire match. Nothing spectacular, but stable from beginning to end. The second alternates between moments of brilliance and sudden collapses. One game they look like a top professional, the next they miss three routine balls in a row. Their ceiling is higher, but so is the distance between their best and worst tennis. Which player is more likely to win consistently over the course of a season? In most cases, it’s the first one. Tennis rewards stability far more than occasional brilliance.

I see exactly the same pattern in junior players. After losing an important game, many of them continue playing that game in their minds long after it has ended. The next set has already started, but mentally they are still trapped in the previous one. They replay the double fault on break point. They think about the missed volley. They argue internally about the line call they believed was wrong. Their body is standing on the baseline, but their mind is still living somewhere in the past. When the brain and the match stop moving at the same speed, mistakes begin to multiply.

That is exactly what I believe Radwanska noticed in the opening games of the second set. She wasn’t simply talking about two lost service games. She was talking about how long it took Swiatek to recover emotionally from losing such a close first set. At the highest level, momentum can change in just a few minutes. Against players like Alexandra Eala, giving away the first three games of a set often means giving away the hardest part of the match to recover.

This is also where one of the biggest misunderstandings about resilience begins. Many people believe resilience means never experiencing a drop in performance. That isn’t true. Every player, including the greatest champions in history, experiences moments of frustration, confusion, and emotional instability. The real difference is much simpler. Elite players interrupt those moments much sooner than everyone else. They don’t eliminate the dip. They shorten it.

That distinction is enormous.

Two players may experience exactly the same emotional reaction after losing a crucial tie-break. One stays trapped in it for five games. The other regains clarity after one difficult point. From the outside, it looks as though the second player is mentally stronger. In reality, they have simply developed a faster recovery process.

That is why I believe one of the main goals of mental training is not necessarily raising your highest level. Technical practice and physical development will naturally help with that. The more important objective is reducing the amount of time you spend at your lowest level. Every minute you remove from a negative spiral dramatically increases your chances of winning matches over the long term.

Think about what happens after losing a tie-break. Many players continue competing against that tie-break during the changeover, during the opening games of the next set, and sometimes even during the following day’s practice. Every new point is filtered through what happened a few minutes earlier. The brain stops processing the reality of the present because it is still arguing with the past. It is an entirely natural reaction—but it is also one of the most expensive habits a tennis player can develop.

The best competitors seem to possess a remarkable ability. They don’t forget what happened. That would be impossible. Instead, they refuse to let the previous point occupy the next one. They accept the disappointment without allowing it to spread. They process it, learn from it, and move on before it begins influencing the rest of the match. Like any technical skill, this ability can be trained.

That is why I often ask my players a very different question after practice or competition. I don’t simply ask whether they played well.

Instead, I ask:

“How long did it take you to become yourself again after your worst moment?”

That question changes the entire way you evaluate your performance. Instead of measuring only your best tennis, it forces you to measure the speed of your recovery. And very often, that is what separates players who continue progressing from those who remain stuck at the same level.

Perhaps that is the greatest lesson hidden inside Agnieszka Radwanska’s comments. She wasn’t criticizing Iga Swiatek’s level.

She was observing how long it took her to find that level again.

And that is a distinction every serious player should understand.

Most players judge their tennis by looking at their best shots.

The best competitors judge their tennis by measuring how long their worst moments last.

Because matches are rarely won by the player who reaches the highest peak.

Far more often, they are won by the player who spends the least amount of time at the bottom.

Federico Coppini
Mental Coach & Tennis Coach
Founder – Coppini Tennis Academy
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