I Loooooove reading about the mindset of sportspeople. I especially like the reading about the preparation, practice, focus, psychology, and so on in one-on-one sport. Boxing, Tennis, Snooker, etc.

Here’s a really interesting article/interview with Victoria Azarenka who was World #1 at the time.

One thing that stood out for me was this:

“For me the best word is adaptation. You adapt to any situation, you adapt to dealing with pressure, confidence, your opponent. You adapt, you try to be better. That is the most appropriate word at this level.”

That’s what all the practice is for.

Not so you can gain skill, great shots and so on – that’d be a different level as she put’s it; but, to be able to adapt to any situation.

Tennis seems to me to be a sport where you have many things to adapt to: the court, the climate, your body, the crowd, how you’re feeling, your game, your intent, what you want to do, your opponent, etc.