I drew my strength from fear. Fear of losing. I don't remember the games I won, only the games I lost.
Boris BeckerRead
Tennis is a psychological sport, you have to keep a clear head. That is why I stopped playing.
Interpretation
Tennis requires mental clarity and focus, which can be difficult to maintain, leading some to step away from the game.
In this quote, Boris Becker emphasizes the mental aspect of tennis, suggesting that the sport demands a high level of psychological resilience and concentration. He implies that the pressure and mental challenges became overwhelming for him, prompting his decision to stop playing. This highlights the importance of mental fortitude in competitive sports and how a lack of it can affect performance and enjoyment.
In practice
During a motivational speech about sports psychology.
I drew my strength from fear. Fear of losing. I don't remember the games I won, only the games I lost.
When you coach Russ Smith, you have a nervous breakdown on every possession. He's not from a different country. He's from a different planet.
The only football players in my time were fellows who really loved to play football. They were not in it for the money. There wasn't much money there. They would have played football for nothing.
I remember going from rookie ball to A, to double A, then to triple A. At every level it seemed like the game was faster. The bigger the situation, the more the game speeds up. That's all mental. It messes people up.
I think permitting the game to become too physical takes away a little bit of the beauty.
One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than a hundred teaching it.
Can you do inter-gender matches? Ronda Rousey and our match at Wrestlemania - sure, it can be done. Women don't need a man in their match to steal the show. They just need an equal platform and opportunity, and if the women have it, they will work just as hard, if not harder, than anybody else to steal that show.
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