The NBA player insists that Milwaukee Bucks’ season had not been a failure, especially not their losing out to the Miami Heat and crashing out of the playoffs.
“There’s no failure in sports. There’s good days, bad days,” Antetokounmpo said.
World Number 9 tennis player, Sakkari, hailed Antetokounmpo’s statements.
“He always says that tennis is the toughest sport,” Sakkari said Thursday after she made it to the third round of the Madrid Open.
“He has spoken to me about how tough our sport is. Tennis is a sport where we lose every week and you have to go again and erase it and go again from zero.”
She added: “Maybe it’s a wake-up call for everyone outside of sports to understand what it means when you lose or when you don’t achieve your goals,” Sakkari said. “It’s not the end of the world.”
Another tennis player who also praised Antetokounmpo is American Coco Gauff who said:
“After Roland Garros, it took me a long time to realize that tournament was a successful tournament for me. I was – not beat up – but really disappointed about it.”
“Hearing that from one of the best players in the NBA right now shows that your career is a process.”
“Just because you lost doesn’t mean it was a failure. He’s right, there’s no failure in sports. You keep learning. In my personal opinion, the only failure is if you don’t work hard, then that’s a failure in itself.”
“But the results? No. You’re always working towards a goal and as long as you’re trying, you either win or you learn. I truly believe that.”