Anchor Your Mental Game

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Anchor Your Mental Game: Don’t Fight It, Don’t Feed It

The swirling winds on Court Philippe-Chatrier matched the turbulence in Aryna Sabalenka’s mind.

She made no effort to mask the sting of her French Open final loss to Coco Gauff, calling her performance “terrible” and lamenting it as “the worst tennis I’ve played in the last, I don’t know how many months.” As the gusts disrupted her rhythm, so too did the emotional storm unravel her composure—shaking confidence, blurring focus, and leaving her raw in defeat.

In her on-court interview, Sabalenka bypassed tradition and dove straight into self-reproach. No perfunctory congratulations, no hollow platitudes. After a grueling 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 defeat, she stood with tears brimming and said, “Honestly, guys, this will hurt so much, especially after such a tough two weeks, playing great tennis and in these terrible conditions playing such terrible tennis in the final — that really hurts.”

The Mantra: Don’t Fight It, Don’t Feed It

Her performance coach, Jason Stacy, offered a guiding principle for these moments:  “Don’t fight it, don’t feed it.”

“The stress, anxiety, the pressure, the mistakes, all those things are going to be there… you can’t pretend it’s not going to be a thing, but you don’t want to feed it either and give it too much energy or power.”

This isn’t a call for emotional repression. It’s a call for mastery.

Three Anchors to Steady Your Mental Game

1. Let It Pass — Don’t Fight the Weather
Emotions, like wind, come and go. Fighting them wastes energy. Accept them. Acknowledge the gust, then return to center.

2. Starve the Spiral — Don’t Feed the Inner Critic
When you dwell, you fuel the fire. Instead:

  • Breathe and reset before each point

  • Use neutral self-talk: “Next Point.”

  • Hold your posture as if you’re still winning:  No drooped shoulders.

3. Train Emotional Resilience Like a Skill
Mental strength is built through reps—just like your serve. Try:

  • Pressure drills that simulate match stress

  • Left-hand ball squeezes pre-serve to keep composure

Wrap: Calm Is a Competitive Edge

Whether you’re battling your opponent or battling yourself, the wind will blow.

You don’t have to fight it. But you must not feed it.

Anchor your mental game with presence, practice, and perspective. Storms will pass. What matters is the clarity you carry through them.

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Stay sharp. Stay calm. Next Point!