--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've been a professional for I think 13…" description: "\"I've been a professional for I think 13, 14 years. It's not easy hitting balls every day and staying really motivated throughout the whole period. It's..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/jelena-jankovic-42679_balls_i-ve-been-a-professional-for-i-think-13_926325.jpg" --- # I've been a professional for I think 13, 14 years. It's… ![“I've been a professional for I think 13, 14 years. It's not easy hitting balls every day and staying really motivated throughout the whole period. It's normal [that] you're going to have ups and downs. But I found my way again. And I love the sport. I love competing. I love battling. I love being…” quote by Jelena Jankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/jelena-jankovic-42679_balls_i-ve-been-a-professional-for-i-think-13_926325.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/jelena-jankovic-42679_balls_i-ve-been-a-professional-for-i-think-13_926325.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/jelena-jankovic-42679_balls_i-ve-been-a-professional-for-i-think-13_926325.jpg) > “I've been a professional for I think 13, 14 years. It's not easy hitting balls every day and staying really motivated throughout the whole period. It's normal \[that\] you're going to have ups and downs. But I found my way again. And I love the sport. I love competing. I love battling. I love being out there and playing in front of crowds. This is what I've been doing since I was a child. There's nothing else that I want to do.” [Jelena Jankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jelena-jankovic/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Professional athletes endure physical strain and emotional fluctuations, yet passion and competition sustain their drive over decades. **In simple terms:** Athletes keep playing because they love the sport despite ups and downs. Key Takeaway Cultivate love for your craft to endure challenges. Themes passion resilience sports career motivation Mood determined reflective Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - training sessions - competition days - career planning - mental health maintenance Key Concepts athlete identity intrinsic motivation performance cycles Questions to Reflect On - What fuels your love for the sport during tough times? - How do you balance burnout risk with competitive desire? A Different Perspective Physical fatigue and injury can limit longevity despite mental drive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Competing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competing/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Staying Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staying-real/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Ups & downs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ups-downs/) [Ups and downs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ups-and-downs/) ## Related quotes > [It's not easy, you know, hitting balls every day, and, you know, staying really motivated throughout the whole period. It's normal you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jelena-jankovic/it-s-not-easy-you-know-hitting-balls-every-day-and-you-know-staying/) [Jelena Jankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jelena-jankovic/) > [“Temperamentally anxious people can have a hard time staying motivated, period, because their intense focus on their worries distracts them from their goals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-gallagher/temperamentally-anxious-people-can-have-a-hard-time-staying-motivated/) [Winifred Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-gallagher/) > [I love being on the field. I love competing. But I'm not a fan of everything that comes with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-rendon/i-love-being-on-the-field-i-love-competing-but-i-m-not-a-fan-of/) [Anthony Rendon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-rendon/) > [I love innovation, I love competing. I hate my competitors. You cannot be in the world of business when you don't have this consciousness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamdi-ulukaya/i-love-innovation-i-love-competing-i-hate-my-competitors-you-cannot/) [Hamdi Ulukaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamdi-ulukaya/) > [I love competing in front of a crowd. I enjoy the performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-konta/i-love-competing-in-front-of-a-crowd-i-enjoy-the-performance/) [Johanna Konta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-konta/) > [I love competing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duval/i-love-competing/) [David Duval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duval/) > [Every moment, every practice, every game, everywhere; I just love competing. Competition is in my DNA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-urlacher/every-moment-every-practice-every-game-everywhere-i-just-love/) [Brian Urlacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-urlacher/) > [I've been a competitor my whole life and I love competing, I love fighting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-mendes/i-ve-been-a-competitor-my-whole-life-and-i-love-competing-i-love/) [Chad Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-mendes/) > [I love playing, I love baseball, I love competing. And if I just focus on those things, then everything else will take care of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-fried/i-love-playing-i-love-baseball-i-love-competing-and-if-i-just-focus/) [Max Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-fried/) > [I just enjoy every day, being with my teammates, going out to perform. I just love competing and I have an extreme passion for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zdeno-chara/i-just-enjoy-every-day-being-with-my-teammates-going-out-to-perform-i/) [Zdeno Chara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zdeno-chara/) > [I love competing in everything that I do, and I try to express that, but I try not to rush it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefon-diggs/i-love-competing-in-everything-that-i-do-and-i-try-to-express-that/) [Stefon Diggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefon-diggs/) > [The sport has pretty much taken over my life. I love it because you're not competing with anyone but yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sport-has-pretty-much-taken-over-my-life-i-love-it-because-you-re/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For me, fighting, I love competing, but I don't love getting my head beat in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-mendes/for-me-fighting-i-love-competing-but-i-don-t-love-getting-my-head/) [Chad Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-mendes/) > [Golf really excites me only when the course is difficult and challenging. I love competing. The pressure of competition against fine holes and fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/golf-really-excites-me-only-when-the-course-is-difficult-and/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [Being away from the game and just remembering why I love competing and all of that, I think it helped me tremendously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-keys/being-away-from-the-game-and-just-remembering-why-i-love-competing/) [Madison Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-keys/) ## More by Jelena Jankovic > [Dreams Matter because they push you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jelena-jankovic/dreams-matter-because-they-push-you/) [Jelena Jankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jelena-jankovic/) > [Being here all day, I was quite exhausted - I had to drink coffee before the match to stay awake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jelena-jankovic/being-here-all-day-i-was-quite-exhausted-i-had-to-drink-coffee-before/) [Jelena Jankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jelena-jankovic/) > [Now I have to do a lot more work. I have to train more and do a lot more, you know, work on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jelena-jankovic/now-i-have-to-do-a-lot-more-work-i-have-to-train-more-and-do-a-lot/) [Jelena Jankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jelena-jankovic/) > [I decided to play tennis not because I wanted to be a professional player, but because my parents wanted me to get involved in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jelena-jankovic/i-decided-to-play-tennis-not-because-i-wanted-to-be-a-professional/) [Jelena Jankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jelena-jankovic/) > [Some of the angles that photographers get on court are not always flattering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jelena-jankovic/some-of-the-angles-that-photographers-get-on-court-are-not-always/) [Jelena Jankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jelena-jankovic/) > [I love the sport. I love competing. I love battling. I love being out there and, you know, playing in front of crowds. 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When it was break point I was telling him 'hit a good return because you know you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jelena-jankovic/i-was-motivating-him-every-time-when-it-was-break-point-i-was-telling/) [Jelena Jankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jelena-jankovic/) [Explore all 10 Jelena Jankovic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jelena-jankovic/) ## More Balls quotes > [It's a lot harder to play football when you haven't got the ball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gray/it-s-a-lot-harder-to-play-football-when-you-haven-t-got-the-ball/) [Andy Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gray/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. 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Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [This ball was so crowded that it took me - a trained professional journalist with vast experience in this area - forty five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-ball-was-so-crowded-that-it-took-me-a-trained-professional/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Throwing a ball is not natural, whether it's overhand or underhand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-finch/throwing-a-ball-is-not-natural-whether-it-s-overhand-or-underhand/) [Jennie Finch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-finch/) > [I don't feel like I have to live up to anything because I've proven that I can play. Give me the ball and let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clinton-portis/i-don-t-feel-like-i-have-to-live-up-to-anything-because-i-ve-proven/) [Clinton Portis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clinton-portis/) > [And if we seem nutty to you and if we seem like an odd ball to you, just remember one thing. The mighty oak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-turner/and-if-we-seem-nutty-to-you-and-if-we-seem-like-an-odd-ball-to-you/) [Glenn Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-turner/) > [You run the football for toughness. You run the ball to tell your opponent that you're as tough as they are. But you throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-glanville/you-run-the-football-for-toughness-you-run-the-ball-to-tell-your/) Jerry Glanville Browse all 3,005 Balls quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've been a professional for I think 13, 14 years. It's not easy hitting balls every day and staying really motivated throughout the whole period. It's normal [that] you're going to have ups and downs. But I found my way again. And I love the sport. I love competing. I love battling. I love being out there and playing in front of crowds. This is what I've been doing since I was a child. 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