I never tire of repeating how sport brings us lessons for life.
This week, I listened to an interview with Bia Haddad Maia on the great tennis podcast “New Balls Please”, by journalist Fernando Nardini and former professional tennis player and commentator Fernando Meligeni. I wasn’t surprised by the maturity in all of Bia’s answers because I’ve been following her career for years, I’ve interviewed her a few times and her determination and focus are clear. No tennis player gets to where she is, currently number 17 in the world, if she didn’t have this and more.
But it’s always good to hear the athlete’s perspective, even more so in times of social media, when many are afraid to expose themselves, don’t want to express opinions or take a stance.
When asked about how she dealt with criticism of her and her team, especially in the not-so-good moments of her career, Bia said that at first she gets upset because only she and her team know what is going on inside her world. She mentioned that she and her family receive horrible threats on the internet, so disgusting that I won’t repeat them so as not to give space to the crazy people. And he concluded by saying something that I also try to use in my life: when we are sure that we are doing good, sure of our path, if someone criticizes us or tries to put us down, that says more about that person’s frustration than about ourselves.
It’s not a question of being arrogant, but of filtering what’s really worth it and who the opinion comes from. And, of course, in an extremely competitive environment like sport, high-level athletes do need to be individualistic at various times.
It is often difficult to have this discernment, because human beings tend to depend on the approval of others (as the former coach of the England football team, Gareth Southgate, said at a time when he was harshly criticized: “We all want to be beloved, right?”). Bia said that, nowadays, she doesn’t feel the pressure of needing to satisfy those who are only watching from the outside. I imagine how liberating that must be.
But the fact is that everyone, whether in the sporting environment or in life in general, has their struggles, their problems, and we can’t expect the other to react the way we would. We have no control over everything they think about us, and that’s okay.
Furthermore, nowadays many people feel entitled to give their opinion on anything, in areas in which they have no knowledge whatsoever, to interfere in the life of a public figure like an athlete and think that he has to listen because he “chose be famous.” It makes it worse that we live in a world that is aggressive and impatient.
I identified with Bia’s speech because, this week, I took a small professional step – something common, nothing big, that would only have consequences for me and no one else – but I found myself imagining how others would react, if I was exposing myself too much. But I tried to think like Bia: if someone judges me, that will say more about that person than about me.
Bia said how much she wants to be and remain in the top 10 of the world rankings and that, for this to happen, 80% will depend on mental health. She is technically confident and dreams of winning a Grand Slam. And that’s exactly it: sometimes, what boycotts us is our head.
I’m still here, from a distance, rooting for her.
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