I have coached kids who tanked when cheated, and this is a really tough one, because often they were correct about the cheating. When they tank they are acknowledging that their concentration on the match is shot, but tanking rewards the cheater. The only real revenge requires a big dose of optimism, which is hard for a kid under these conditions, but if he or she can do it, just once, they can learn a permanent competitive lesson and an invaluable life lesson..

I remember in a college match I played against a big left hander, a top player, the wind was absolutely howling. I lost the first set and decided to change strategy and hit all slice serves to his backhand, first serves also, wide out in the alley or center line, come in to net and hit every volley to his backhand, and not particularly deep, without trying to put it away so that he would have to beat me with his weakest shot. He couldn’t, I won in three sets and we barely shook hands after the match. The guy started in with the excuses, the wind and my strategy, which he considered somehow less than forthright. I should have just shut up then, but I rubbed it in, told him how lucky he was to make it that close, and that he could never, ever beat me in a match that counted. I guess the point is that I didn’t want to hear it, I was plenty good and how dare he insult me like that, and I just let him have it. I never played him after that, but I am absolutely sure that I my ego would not have ever let me lose to this guy, I would have died out there first. I guess that sometimes excuses can do more than just fall on deaf ears.