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Facing the number two player in the world, in front of a stadium packed with fans full of high expectations, Coco lost the first set 6-2. The outlook looked bleak as Sabalanka was overpowering her in every physical part of the game by hitting the ball harder with both her forehand, backhand, and crushing serve.
Instead of folding to the pressure and gravity of the situation, Coco took her "meta-moment," gathered her emotions and used her stellar coping strategies. When she returned from her break, as the match went on, her confidence increased and her body told the story. Her shoulders remained raised, her head held high, her affect remained calm and stoic whether up or down. Between each point, she took deep breaths, taking the time and space to pause and center herself before the next point. With a little help from the New York crowd, she ultimately won the second and third sets, earning her crown as a US Open Singles Champion.
Coco burst onto the scene when she was 15 and is now one of the youngest champions tennis has seen. The social and emotional skills she displayed, which include her frustration tolerance, self-awareness, her ability to self-regulate, be flexible and resilient is key to her competitive edge. Her performance is a reminder for everyone that pure talent and physical prowess alone does not always lead to success. To be the best at what you do, and the highest version of yourself, it takes skill building around social and emotional intelligence. With Coco, it is inspiring to witness so much composure, maturity and social and emotional prowess in someone so young. Along with her athletic and fast game on the court, this contributes greatly and is part of her competitive edge as an champion. A few of the traits she demonstrated are detailed below.
Frustration Tolerance: This is the ability to tolerate challenging moments and feelings of distress without becoming overwhelmed and emotionally dysregulated. Developing a high frustration tolerance takes years of practice and the integration of coping strategies including deep breathing, visualization, and other forms of mindfulness and meditation.
Self-Awareness and Self-Regulation: Taking the temperature of your thoughts and feelings and being able to regulate those also takes practice and skill building. Understanding yourself, your blind spots and vulnerabilities, allows you to accurately prepare for unexpected challenges.
Flexibility and Resilience: The “down but not out” mentality is essential in sports and all parts of life. Developing a growth mindset leads to success on and off the court. “I may have lost that point, but I can still win the match”, comes from a growth mindset. Invoking a growth mindset prevents us from overidentifying with our mistakes, remaining optimistic and focused on the goal at hand.
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