Lessons from a Champion

"I know I have the potential to do it again, whether this year or in the future." -- Coco Gauff

This has been a theme in Coco's post-match interviews through the first two rounds of the US Open.

This hits home for me on two fronts:

🥇The enormous pressure to perform. At just 20 years old, Coco has talked candidly about this and how it ebbs and flows.

I'm not a professional tennis player (although I am a life-long player), but I have the type of anxiety that makes me truly feel the weight of the world. I carry a sense of pressure with me in almost everything I do.

I've learned to cope, to let it ebb and flow, but it'll always be there.

🥈She's managing expectations--her own expectations and the fans' expectations.

This is so wise of her. She's letting everyone know: I see you, I hear you, I feel and appreciate the expectations, but I have time. I know I'm a champion whether I repeat at the US Open this year or down the line.

It inspires me to reframe the pressure and expectations I place on myself: I know I have the potential, whether it comes to fruition today or years from now.

✌️🔥❤️