When I was a child, every July my mother and I would make our customary pilgrimage to Safeway to purchase strawberries and cream. In keeping with tradition, I needed to consume this repast from our finest china at 7 am on Saturday morning as the regal strains of the “Breakfast at Wimbledon” theme played on NBC. It might seem a bit over the top, but I suppose such is life when parenting an imaginative dreamer who had no qualms about pulling others into her fantasies. Besides, given that my whole family was obsessed with tennis (courtesy of my father’s lead), no one batted an eye at this particular eccentricity of an eight-year-old.
Suffice it to say, my fixation with tennis has endured into adulthood. For instance, during the French Open, I have been known to have the IBM shot tracker active on my desktop at work so I can have up-to-the-minute access to the tournament scores. Even on “school nights,” it is not uncommon for me to be awake at 3:30 in the morning, desperately fighting my body’s circadian rhythms to watch the live action from the Australian Open. Entire Labor Day weekends have been spent camped out in front of the television, bingeing on the breaks, drop shots, and smashes of the US Open.
I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have been able to witness the illustrious careers of my two favorite tennis players: Roger Federer and Serena Williams. With seventeen and fourteen singles grand slam titles, respectively, they are arguably some of the greatest athletes to have ever played the sport. Watching Federer at his prime was like watching Nureyev on the court – his grace, finesse, and effortless control frequently left my mouth agape in response to some seemingly impossible winner he would hit down the line with an insouciant flick of the wrist. By contrast, Serena’s game was like that of a warrior-princess – power, emotion, and relentless aggression. Viewing her matches, I sensed I knew the awe a bystander must feel after witnessing Superman engage in a super-human feat.
At age 32, Federer and Williams are now seemingly at different points in their careers. Once firmly ensconced at number 1 for 237 weeks, Federer is now ranked number five in the world, with his most recent wins being at Wimbledon in 2012, and the Australian Open in 2010. (Please note this is more than respectable for mere mortals, particularly ones of his age. But, Roger set the bar so high with his supremacy, that fifth out of 7 billion seems like a disappointment to a zealous fan such as myself). Williams, meanwhile, is number one on the women’s side, fresh off of US and French Open wins this year, and Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Olympic wins last year. While there are a number of factors that have obviously played into their career trajectories, I believe that one important consideration that we regular folks can learn from is their openness to change.
Federer’s rise to dominance was unparalleled. Between 2003 and 2009, he made 21 grand slam final appearances, losing only 6 of those matches (with 3 of them being 5 set heart-breakers). Although I can’t say I ever saw him this way (but I could be just a tad biased), some people described him as arrogant. And, I suppose, if I try to look clearly through my starry eyes, there are some indications that he had a sizeable ego. For example, despite the fact that his competitors were gaining on him, Federer has been a creature of habit, sticking steadfastly with what had worked for him in the past. Fox Sports columnist, Greg Couch argued after his second round-exit in this year’s Wimbledon to Sergiy Stakhovsky (who is not even ranked in the top 100), that in his stubbornness to change to a more modern racquet, Federer is “starting to look like a black-and-white photo.” Couch contended that his racquet is the equivalent of “entering the Daytona 500 with a horse and buggy.” After experimenting with a new racquet for a few matches this summer, Federer went back to old faithful for the US Open, and lost in the fourth round. World-renowned coach Nick Bollettieri has also suggested that in order to have any chance of winning another major, Federer needs a two-handed backhand.
Changing would obviously be difficult for him at this point in his career. It would require some massive readjustments, discomfort on the court, and potentially some additional exits in the early rounds. My guess is that the awkwardness of getting used to a new racquet has been too much for him to bear, and consequently, he chose security and familiarity over risk and uncertainty. However, given that he has announced that he would like to continue to play for many years to come, should he be comfortable resting on his laurels, playing a game and using technology that allow him to be competent, but not as strong of a contender to be the best? The answer to that question clearly only for him to determine. And as I noted before, fifth in the world is pretty good. But, is pretty good acceptable for the Greatest of All Time?
Williams’ career has been spottier. Historically, while there has been consensus about her superlative athletic ability, there has been some question about her work ethic. Serena was the sort of player who was so talented, with such a dominating serve, that she would often win matches despite some debatable shot selection, unnecessary risks, and an inconsistent level of fitness. However, Serena has always been someone who has been willing to get help in order to grow throughout her career.
After her first grand slam title (the US Open in 1999), Serena’s star gradually rose, culminating in the “Serena Slam” from 2002-2003 when she won four grand slams in a row (and the Olympics). However, after only one win over the next two years, including several early exits, many doubted her ability to replicate such a performance. 2006 was her worst year. Suffering from injuries and intense pressure from her sponsors, she had a third round loss in the Australian Open, exited the US Open in the fourth round, and dipped to 139 in the rankings. At the urging of her family, Serena sought intense, daily therapy for depression. After dealing with her demons, the next year, entering the Aussie Open as an unseeded and “out of shape” player, she shocked the world, and took home the title, giving up only three games to Maria Sharapova. Emboldened by this win, and with renewed confidence, she won five additional grand slam titles and regained her number one ranking between 2008 and 2010, despite having some knee and quad injuries.
Trials came knocking again in July, 2010 when she accidentally stepped on a piece of glass and experienced a life-threatening hematoma and pulmonary embolism. After taking almost a year off, and losing some matches, her ranking plummeted to 175. Later that year she made it to the US Open final, where she lost.
2012 started off poorly, with a fourth-round defeat in the Australian Open and a first round loss in the French Open. However, as one who is willing to take risks, Serena used that disappointment as a catalyst for change and hired a new coach, Patrick Mouratoglou (her parents had coached her up to this point). His initial assessment was that she was “emotionally uptight and often unbalanced in her movements.” Under his tutelage, she increased her focus on her game, practiced more consistently, and entered more tournaments. Since Mouratoglou has become involved in her career, she has won 4 out of the last 6 grand slam titles, and has been described as playing some of the best tennis in her career.
Earlier this month, I remember holding my breath during the US Open final. During a serve, the linesman called a foot fault. I harkened back to her infamous 2009 incident in which she yelled profanities to a lineswoman and threatened to “take this ball and stuff it down your throat” in response to a similar call. I recalled 2011 at the same venue when she angrily called the umpire “a loser”, “a hater” and “unattractive on the inside” for a call with which she took issue. This year, however, she didn’t lose her cool; instead, she maintained her composure while giving the official a long, knowing look, before continuing on with her game. She had changed her approach. She was now more mature and emotionally stable, and had become a more complete player as a result of it. To cap it off, this year, she was confirmed as the world’s oldest player to hold the number one ranking.
Despite her faults, Serena’s career is a lesson for all of us. She is a lesson in resilience, having coming back from adversity on numerous occasions (both within matches and more broadly from the setbacks in her life), despite the opinions of her naysayers. She is a lesson in being willing to ask for help, in her act of admitting vulnerability and seeing a therapist in order to grow. She is a lesson in noticing what isn’t working, and being willing to make changes to address it, as evidenced by her hiring of Mouratoglou.
As a leader, reflect on whose trajectory you are taking. Are you becoming self-satisfied and complacent like Federer*? Are you resting on your past achievements, sticking with what has worked for you in the prior years, and comfortably sticking with the familiar, though its time may have passed? Or, are you taking Williams’ path, leveraging your strengths, addressing your weaknesses, and being open to the discomfort of change for greater results in the future? Serena exemplifies tenacity, defiantly being unwilling to go down without a fight, and determined to claim her place in history. Hopefully you are taking a lesson from her.
*(By the way, as a diehard fan I would like nothing better than for Federer to prove my analysis to be wrong. Come on, Roger!)
