John Newcombe Quotes

I think that what we do out on the field is oftentimes a little bit better than what men do. I don't think that we flop around as much. I think we're tough. I mean, I've got battle wounds on my legs from the turf and sliding. And we're gritty. And we're feisty. And I think that I would never back down from a guy.

I never came out of a game unless I was truly hurt.

I just go out and play my game. Just making sure I keep doing those little things, like playing with toughness, that's just me.

Competitive toughness is an acquired skill and not an inherited gift.

I don't care how much talent a team has - if the boys don't think tough, practice tough, and live tough, how they play tough on Saturday.

Match play really exposes your character and how much of a will to win you have in your heart.

That's one thing you learn in sports. You don't give up; you fight to the finish.

Football doesn't build character. It eliminates the weak ones.

Even if I play backgammon with my coach, I hate to lose. I won't talk to him for, like, an hour. So imagine how it feels when you lose at tennis. That makes me determined not to lose because I hate it so much. Even at a set down and match point, I always believe I can come back.

They'd better be physically tough when they start pulling on their football pants.

As I always say - you have no feelings when you are on the pitch. You are there to play, to give the best for your team.

Being tough is probably the biggest thing that NFL players are known for, having that kind of toughness.

I'm a football player. I believe I'm just as tough as anybody else. I try not to play like a wide receiver.

I don't step back, that's football. It's about winning.

There were many times that I took such a big hit that I was dazed; I'm not going to lie. I'd see black, but I'm still looking for the puck. Where's the play going? I'm going to keep going. Same thing in figure skating. If I take a hard fall, I'm going to get up, and I'm going to do the next jump.

At Kentucky, you have to be a competitor. If you're not, you're going to look weak. You're going to look like you don't belong.

There's a reason Montana produces more SEALs than any other state. As a collegiate athlete, I enjoyed the mental and physical challenges Division I football presented.

Miesha is a great athlete, really tough. I know that.

You don't quit in sports. You retire. You don't get to quit. It's not an option.

I didn't play in indoor gyms until I was 12... Hitting the floor on concrete - it ain't easy bouncing up from that. It makes you tougher.

Quitting has always been the worst possible thing you can do in sports. It's downright un-American.

To play this game, you've got to have heart, and a lot of guys don't have it. I can sit here and say we all do, but we all don't.

I may not be the most physical player, that's not my nature. But I am a competitor and I play as hard as I can.

I'm fighting against becoming soft. That's the worst thing you can say to a basketball player.