"As soon as I step on the court I just try to play tennis and don't find excuses. You know, I just lost because I lost, not because my arm was sore"
About this Quote
The key move is rhetorical: he doesn’t deny soreness; he denies its power as narrative. “I just lost because I lost” is less about self-blame than about protecting the integrity of the contest. Excuses are tempting because they preserve identity: I’m still the better player, circumstances just intervened. Ivanisevic rejects that insurance policy. In doing so, he performs a version of toughness that’s as much moral as physical: if you choose to play, you choose to be judged by the result.
The subtext is also a jab at the tennis ecosystem, where injuries and “conditions” can become strategic messaging - softening criticism, influencing future opponents, managing sponsors, managing fans. His stance reads like an antidote to that PR reflex, a bid for credibility in a sport obsessed with fine margins and plausible deniability.
Context matters: Ivanisevic built a career on volatility - a massive serve, emotional swings, matches decided by a few points. For a player whose margins were always thin, owning the loss isn’t just humility; it’s clarity. No alibis, no rewrites, just the brutal simplicity of competition.
Quote Details
| Topic | Defeat |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Ivanisevic, Goran. (2026, January 17). As soon as I step on the court I just try to play tennis and don't find excuses. You know, I just lost because I lost, not because my arm was sore. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-soon-as-i-step-on-the-court-i-just-try-to-play-48495/
Chicago Style
Ivanisevic, Goran. "As soon as I step on the court I just try to play tennis and don't find excuses. You know, I just lost because I lost, not because my arm was sore." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-soon-as-i-step-on-the-court-i-just-try-to-play-48495/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"As soon as I step on the court I just try to play tennis and don't find excuses. You know, I just lost because I lost, not because my arm was sore." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-soon-as-i-step-on-the-court-i-just-try-to-play-48495/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.





