As those who know me will attest, I’ve never been known to not have an opinion. I was recently asked about my take on the US Open women’s final, and that got me philosophizing about the two teenage women who ran right through the draw, knocking out some big names along the way. No one would have picked these two players to be in the finals. Leylah Fernandez of Canada and England’s Emma Raducanu were mostly unknowns. The eventual winner, Emma, was a qualifier. That was crazy. But did they deserve to be there? Emphatically, yes.
These kids are going to be around. This was the beginning of a nice rivalry. They are steady, they can run and cover the court, and they are shotmakers. The game is going to higher and higher levels.
If Leylah had played the same as she did against her other opponents, she could have won, but you can only do what your opponent lets you do. Emma pinned her to the baseline with deep, penetrating shots, and Leylah was unable to execute her typical game of deeper and wider returns. That resulted in Leylah committing some uncharacteristic errors while trying for bigger shots. The best Leylah could do was to get every ball back and wait for an opportunity to strike.
Whoever stays in the “process” is going to win more. Going forward, that is about managing their games and also the media, the expectations that everyone puts on them, and all the distractions and pressures of being at the top of the professional game. They need to get everything out of their minds except the game. That’s process, focus, concentration – all under the heading of mental toughness. And, at this point in time, I believe Leylah has the better chance if all those things are in place If I coached these girls, that’s what I would focus on..
Being in the process is a lesson for all players. It could be mechanics, strategy, managing skills, or whatever. It can be different for everyone. No matter what happens on the court, don’t think of anything else and concentrate on the process, not the outcome. Winning is only the motivator.
A lot of players don’t know how to self-correct. Just keep it simple – stay with a winning game. If you’re not winning, change the thought process and work on, say, making the correct shot selection or whatever process that’s gonna win for you.
When I play golf, I’m in the process and the ball goes straight. I’m not worried about the outcome, just that I have the process right. I don’t even know where the ball goes, but I do know that if I have the process right, the outcome will be good.
I’ll end my rambling on this subject with one of what people are now calling “Martyisms.” The loftier the goals, the higher the task, the greater the glory.
