Move On, They Say
It has become a mandatory skill for the stars of the game: Don't dwell on success or defeat, don't ever be satisfied, just move on. Has it gone overboard now, though?
Welcome back! I’m just barely feeling ready to get into the grass season and yet we’re nearly halfway through it or something. So here’s a musing about how this sport has created a “let’s never be satisfied, let’s just move on” mentality at the top of the game that sometimes feels not only scary but also bad for business. Also in this edition, Andy Murray - who acknowledged he didn’t take enough time to enjoy his achievements - took the stage and kinda shaded his coaching job; Naomi Osaka on the screen, Petra Kvitova bows out and Jannik Sinner…sings.
I’m currently going through my Wimbledon’s to-do list, starting by requesting the players I’d like to talk to during what Wimbledon doesn’t call the media day but the media weekend. It’s Wimbledon, they will always have a different way ;) I’m also planning TSS content for you all, finishing writing up interviews, and adding new lines to my to-do list, as usual in denial about what I will really manage to achieve. How are you all doing post clay season? Recovered? Hungover? Tanning somewhere? Let me know ;) In this crazy world, if you’re going through a rough time, hang in there. At some point, we’re going to get out of that Dystopia. Like, please.
Moving On, As A Tennis Coping Mechanism
You gotta move on. You gotta bounce back. You gotta chase these points. You gotta catch that prize money. You gotta respect these contracts. Don’t care about your hearbreaks, don’t care about your titles either, just move forward. Here’s how I feel again that tennis is losing its way and how its players might start to lose their minds more often than they used to. Sometimes, really, tennis should let its stars breathe for the sport’s greater good.
Moving on, they say. It will be fine, they say. It’s the only way, they say. Moving on: The Tennis Mantra. Sometimes, doesn’t it feel like they shouldn't actually move on? Like, what’s so bad about taking a wee break? I always somehow end up thinking about this after clay season is over because the moment the last ball is played at Roland-Garros, someone posts a “Who are the fav for Wimbledon” kind of thing, and I’m like, wait, wut?
And then I’ll think about it when I see players going through the tournaments, on autopilot. I’d also think about it when seeing players getting some of the biggest wins or biggest losses of their careers, and taking zero time to process any of this. And it’d cross my mind each time a player would say they don’t really pause to think about what they’ve achieved, that it’ll be forgotten in a few days because something else is around the corner, that sure it’s great or sure that hurts, but there’s always next week. Surely, all of this is not exactly emotionally or physically healthy in the long run. It’s also exhausting and overwhelming for everybody involved, even the fans tennis is trying to get to the game.
They lose, they move on. They win, they move on. That’s how it’s done, and it’s even what so many coaches highlight as a strength regarding the best players in the world: highs aren’t too high, lows aren’t too low, so they can keep moving on. They’re never satisfied, so they can keep moving on. They will enjoy their wins or cry over their losses for a couple of days and then move on to their next goal. It’s a quality, a key to consistency and longevity.
But both things can be true: it’s an essential mental state to develop to survive and thrive at the highest level, yet it’s also a coping mechanism to endure things that maybe shouldn’t be endured. And maybe the result right now is…killing the vibe? Like, isn’t it all sounding robotic? AI-like? Humans have emotions, and whatever the degree of control they intend to put on them, they only get to move on properly when these emotions are processed. Do tennis stars have a “fast forward” option for that? Surely. But when is too fast, too fast? I wonder what the sports pyschologists most of them have hired these days think about it all.
It’s like wins don’t really matter anymore, and losses don’t really matter anymore. You win or lose a Grand Slam title, but after 48 hours, it’s under the rug or something. What matters most is always the next goal, the next stop on the Tour, the next big shiny thing, the next plane to catch. Rat Race For The Rich And Famous In Tennis. It honestly doesn’t make a lot of sense when you take the time to think about it. For the players, for the sport as a whole, as well as for the “wow premium” product you’re trying to sell to broadcasters, streamers, brands and people all over the world. If you summon a Super Bowl every week, what even is the Super Bowl anymore? Also, who has the energy for that?
I mean, in what world did Jannik Sinner need to