Venus Williams now faces what may be the greatest challenge of her career. This will be the ultimate test of her ability to focus on tennis and her success at Wimbledon, while pushing away thoughts of the tragic car crash she was involved in.
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Tennis is a game that requires complete and total focus. Sustaining concentration on one object, that tiny green ball, to the exclusion of everything else in the environment is key. This includes screaming fans, bad officiating, and in her case, a traumatic motor vehicle accident. In tennis, unlike in many other sports such as basketball, even the briefest lapse in attention will almost certainly cause an unforced error and point for the opponent.
We feel at times as though there are numerous thoughts occupying the space in our minds. However, at any given moment, if we could freeze time, there would only be one. What we experience is actually our mind cycling from one thought to another to another. Did I remember to pay my water bill? What did my coach mean when he told me he wanted to meet with me? How can I improve my performance? We often have these thoughts race in our heads.
Returning to Venus at Wimbledon, it will be fascinating to see how she responds to this tragedy. I will certainly be rooting for her in this difficult time. Her success/failure will have much less to do with her physical skills and more to do with her capacity to control which thoughts she has in her mind and hold them there. Has anyone else noticed this aspect of their mental game working or not working for them? I welcome your stories and comments.