I've just come back from my first squash tournament in life and my head is hanging low. I had much higher expectations after training the sport for some three months with a personal trainer, but all this trouble and investment were enough to beat one rather hapless female contestant and a guy who was relatively poor opposition. I went on to lose four following games, never winning a single set, with skillful but gettable players. I ranked 8 out of 12 people in the tournament. Two last places went to women.
My mistakes were glaring. I lost most points being unable to return the serve effectively. In fact, with some players I would first go 0-8 down before starting to score myself. This was already too far behind to grab sets. They were clearly in control throughout. It was also me who lacked confidence and determination to win. I definitely didn't do well on psychology, even though with most players I got beaten by today my skills were inferior. Or, possibly, this is too strong a judgment - I was very volatile, incapable of showing strength for a couple of rallies and winning visible advantage. But I see a road to victories in the future.
One important excuse I have for doing so badly is that I wasn't feeling 100%. I've been struggling with an autumn infection for a couple of days and it's not getting any better. After three, four games I could feel my energy evaporating, along with my confidence and willpower.
Plan for next time: in the best case scenario - win one more quality opponent; in the worst case scenario - win a set or two in losing games.
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