loser

There are many ways to lose in tennis.
The first is by default. Failure to be present. Out of sickness or injury, or unawareness of schedule. Or one does not show up for fear of knowing who is the better player. That is the worst kind of losing.
The second is through errors, mistakes. The opponent scores more by the mistakes you make rather than by the good shots that he does. It is a good way of losing, at least you know that, when you minimize your mistakes, you maximize your chance of winning.
The third is that the other player played better than you. There is no excuse. One should be happy and gracious enough to acknowledge that the other player is better, that the other player has better strokes and even bigger heart. That is a better way of losing, to lose to someone better than you. That is the challenging part. Someday, you hope to win by becoming a better player than the best players you have played with.
There are many ways to lose in life. Just don’t lose by default, by not showing up. Choose to lose the better way hoping that one day you will get to win.