Game Set Match

What a fun, oftentimes tense tennis tournament the US Open was, filled with lots of twists and turns.

While I wouldn’t want such drama and mystery in my own life, on the court it’s highly entertaining. Sometimes I find it too emotional, as I struggle with a tendency to get attached to some female players for various reasons and then get all stressed out if a player I think should win or “deserves” to win ends up losing, which happens all the time. The lack of predictability in this game is mind-boggling.  

Before it started, I figured that the World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty or No. 2 player Aryna Sabalenka would come out on top. It didn’t seem like rocket science to make that assumption. But, early on, Barty was shockingly eliminated in an upset by Shelby Rogers, the No. 43 player, which left Sabalenka, in my mind, the likely champion.

She made it to the semi-finals, but she was beaten by the fairly unknown 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez, ranked No. 73. Surprisingly, Fernandez met another unknown, 18-year-old Emma Radacanu – a “qualifier” who had been ranked above 300 – and the 2 teen underdogs battled it out. In a highly competitive final, Radacanu was victorious. This win not only netted her $2.5 million but improved her ranking to No. 23.

I was thoroughly exhausted – emotionally and physically – by the time this tournament was over, and I know I wore David out with all my questions and constant assessments. While he is used to all the ups and downs in sports – being a Giants, Rangers, and Mets fan – this is all fairly new to me.

To help me keep it all in perspective, he offered 3 guidelines:

1 - No one “deserves” to win; view each game with a critical eye. This isn’t the place for the “Everyone deserves a trophy” mentality that I had as a young mom when my kids played sports or my feeling that one athlete should win because she had a longer history than the others and so the match means more to her, or because she’s going through a divorce, or has some emotional difficulties she’s trying to work through, yadda yadda. Athletes have to prove themselves with each and every game, with a true champion the one who can do this time and time again.

2 – Expect inconsistencies. Tennis players are on their own when they play in a singles match – there’s no hiding within or behind a team – and no one plays the same each time. They are impacted by all kinds of things like their physical and/or mental state, opponent, weather and so on. Some days a player can be incredible; the next day, she might not be able to get in any first serves.

3 – Get used to being disappointed. I shouldn't get so invested in a player that I feel too sad if she doesn’t win, because it’s going to happen over and over, and feeling down could cause me to lose interest in the game which would be unfortunate since it is the one sport I truly enjoy watching. 

I’m working hard to follow these tenets, but I can’t promise I’m not going to shed a tear if my favorite player loses in the next tournament.