Personal Opinion
2/17/2024
What does “mentality” mean?
Sports stars are, of course, talented and athletic individuals who have physical gifts beyond the range of normal human ability. For tennis players, these physical advantages range from being above two meters in height to crazy speed and accurate touch. Modern technologies have allowed for new eras of physical dominance. Three out of the current ATP top 10 are above 6ft 5 and for the women, two out of the top four are above 5ft 11. Carlos Alcaraz is regularly labeled as one of the most explosive players on tour and Iga Świątek has the most powerful forehand of any active WTA player.
Something discussed with the same frequency, though with limited precision, is mentality. How a player handles pressure is fairly easy to measure. Champions, players such as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic, exhibit similar mental characteristics when it comes to how they handle pressure. This has been shown in a 2016 study on players from the Research Papers Competition held in Boston. According to the study, champions are “impervious” on serve, when the game is dictated by a shot in their control. During return games, champions are characterized by being adaptable and tactically astute. Women such as Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova possess similar patterns, approaching return games with an air of cool-headedness and clarity. The difference in mentality between the two lies in their response to the scoreline. While Williams may play better in pressureful situations, Sharapova remains largely unaffected.
Unlike performance under pressure, work ethic, confidence, and competitiveness are nearly impossible to measure quantitatively from the outside. All three of these characteristics, in addition to how well a player handles pressure, determine the level of success a player has over the course of their career. Certain players are known for working harder than others, but it is still impossible to determine if the improvement one makes is down to skill or the grind. Players can have a confident, pretentious personality but lack self-belief in the greatest moments. The willingness to compete can trump nerves or imposter syndrome, but this resolve must go hand and hand with self-belief to prove effective.
All of this being said, it is clear that players must possess the highest level of physicality and mentality to be successful on the court. But what about off the court? This is where things get complicated.
Expectations
All professional athletes of a high caliber are expected to be role models for those that watch them and ambassadors, partners, and marketing agents for those that oftentimes don’t. Athletes score brand deals, friendships, and crowd support for promoting “good values” such as kindness, generosity, and humility. For any normal person, this would feel like constant pressure. For athletes, this pressure is not only constant but contradictory to their profession. An extreme self-confidence and willingness to compete does not go hand and hand with kindness and humility.
Moreover, many players are prevented from becoming champions due to perceived social qualms. Women, people of color, or players representing a minority group often are required to be more virtuous and conventional than their peers. All players should be allowed to be brazen or brash without consequence.
The argument that follows this statement is that: players can (should) be different on and off the court. Obviously, it is not this simple. Athletes are paid to reach their emotional peak in front of an expectant audience. People watch sports to not just witness a showcase of prime physicality or groundbreaking tactics, but to witness a spectacle.
What makes a champion?
In some ways, athletes are paid to be emotionally unrestrained. Sports punish those who are incapable of believing (and acting) like they are the best. This lesson is learned from day one of competition (or day one of training if your coach wants to ensure you get off to a solid start). Tennis is a gladiator fight. It does not matter if you are polite if you crash out in round one. It does not matter if you are a good person if you can’t pay your bills at the end of the month.
The other side of this argument is that some players do manage to be kind, generous, and humble while also being ruthless on court. Some players have never smashed a racket, refused a handshake, or cursed at their box. These players have enough mental fortitude to handle pressure, to believe in themselves, and to work hard, but they do not have the capacity to act as though they are entitled to more than they have achieved. As a result, these players rarely become prolific champions.
Players who let their emotional peak overwhelm and consume them in their entirety are also unable to perform when the chips are down. Emotional outbursts can be productive, but they can also be detrimental. Champions allow themselves to experience everything without experiencing the emotional overflow. Legendary athletes pick and choose which emotions to wait out and which ones to harness and ride for as long as possible.
Of course, there is a fine line between the way a player acts and the repercussions of those actions. Violence, assault, and cheating are not acceptable behaviors no matter what level someone has reached in their career.
Conclusion
Fans and players alike prefer authenticity and ingenuity. People watch sports to witness emotions they cannot experience. Tennis needs to liberalize if it wants to simultaneously reach a wider audience and alleviate its players. The crowd wants a performance, and athletes toe the line between channeling their emotion into fuel and flying off the handle. Sometimes the fuel cannot be separated from the fire, and antics and emotional outbursts are necessary for one to win.