Tennis brings out the best in people and tennis brings out the worst in people.

Competition does interesting things to players. It usually brings out their true personality. Even friendly, good-natured people can become easily-rattled, explosive, confrontational, angry, unethical, self-doubting, complaining, frustrated, violent, terrified, detached, cocky, boisterous...you name it, I’ve seen it.

All you well-meaning friends and relatives out there should be ready for these personality shifts.

Which shift you’ll experience depends of course whether your player has a good day or a bad one.

Hopefully, your player will come off the court resembling the person you know best. But don’t be surprised if they act strangly different for a while.

When your player loses a tough match, I’ve learned it’s best not to talk about it for at least 24 hours.

They’re just not ready to talk about it objectively. Some of them are likely to bite you.

So express your interest, but don’t dwell on their negative experience until your player has a day to recover.