The Brain Within the Brain of a Rising Tennis Queen

Many top tennis players consult with mental coaches, but Abramowicz works with Swiatek much more frequently than usual for the sport. Abramowicz also takes a counterintuitive approach of prioritizing gratitude, human relationships and personal growth as a path to winning.

At this level, every player has beautiful strokes and athleticism. What often separates the merely great tennis player from the champion, or a one-time Grand Slam champion from a dominating repeat winner, is having the fortitude to prevail on those few key points on which a match turns.

“We talk a lot about positive and destructive passions,” Abramowicz said in an interview. “Perfectionism is not so helpful, so we tried to create positive passion, determination and grit. You embrace your potential in pursuit of excellence. You go for the best, but at the end of the day you are human and you have other aspects to your life, and it doesn’t mean when you lose your match you are less worthy as a human being.”

Abramowicz said that self-confidence and close relationships built on trust were crucial to supporting attributes like motivation, stress management and communication that drive athletic success.

“It is impossible to become a champion when you don’t have a fundamental joy and your needs fulfilled and satisfied as a human being,” Abramowicz said.

That may be debatable. Tennis, like other sports, has had plenty of champions who were miserable at times, even when they were on top. Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, who are now married to each other, and more recently Victoria Azarenka, have had plenty of success during unhappy periods in their personal lives. That said, Abramowicz has pushed Swiatek to embrace the idea that she can achieve lasting success far more easily and certainly more enjoyably if she approaches tennis not as life itself but as one part of it.

“It is important to have peace so you can focus on working,” Swiatek said. “It is not only true for tennis players but for any person who wants to succeed and is doing extraordinary things.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/07/sports/tennis/iga-swiatek-sports-psychology.html