Life on Tour With Jean-Yves Aubone (@JYNole) April 2015 Update #5 Israel Trip Post-Mortem
Jean-Yves Aubone, Tennis Atlantic
No Excuses
There’s no way around it. My trip to Israel for three consecutive tournaments was probably the most gut-wrenching one I’ve ever had. I didn’t even win a set in any of my matches. I’m sure I can come up with a few logical excuses but I know I’d be lying. I had everything I needed to perform. I had a coach with me everyday. I improved at each practice. I ate as well as I could. The weather was impeccable. At night I slept as if I was in my own bed. Unfortunately, none of it mattered. As soon as the match started, my preparation went out the window.
The nerves that usually only exist in the first few games of the match lasted the entire match. I was never calm. I played very indecisive tennis. I couldn’t stick to a game plan. On big points I made way too many unforced errors. To sum it up, I played bad.
As I reflected on this trip I remembered what I learned when working in finance. When picking stocks, one can put all the work in. They could have studied all the fundamentals and technical charts. They could have followed their winning process exactly the same as before. Yet somehow the stock didn’t move in the direction their work indicated it would. That doesn’t mean the process is broken and they didn’t work hard enough. It just means this time they were wrong. But so long as they stick to the process, put the right amount of work in time after time, they will be right more often than not. So long as I keep putting the correct amount of work in, I know I will win more than I will lose.
While I know I’m doing everything I can to put myself in the best position to succeed, I still couldn’t help but feel sick to my stomach during my trip back to the United States. During a 12-hour flight to Newark, where I was stuck in the middle seat and could rarely stand up, I had more than enough time to watch 8 episodes of House of Cards, two movies, and still think about how I spent 3 weeks in the Middle East without even winning a set. I had no ranking points to defend from last year, so it was a great opportunity to move up in the rankings. Instead, I come back with none of my matches going over an hour and a half, and having made $208 in singles (not including expenses). As much as I can say I play for the love of the game, I also like winning and I didn’t even come close.
My original flight was set for way after the day I lost, so I could have stayed and enjoyed all the historical locations that Israel has to offer but I had to get out of there. The longer I was in Israel the more mental damage it would have done. I had to put the trip behind me and prepare for the challenger tournaments in Savannah, Georgia and Tallahassee, Florida
Before I end this blog I want to thank Gabriel Rujinsky for all his help coaching me in Israel. Though the results didn’t show it, my game improved each and everyday because of his help. I have no doubt that the work we put in will show at some point. I also want to thank his wife Manuska. She took care of me like I was part of her family. Finally, I want to thank their three daughters for treating me as their brother. I was so far away from home but I always felt like I was with family. Thank you all for making my trip to Israel as fun possible. I look forward to seeing you again soon.
