The 2021 US Open women’s finals between Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez is a great example of the power of the stories we tell ourselves.

Both players repeatedly said that they didn’t expect to keep winning, and Raducanu even booked her flight home for after the qualifying rounds.

The impact of self-talk

For these teens, the pressure of living up to expectations, was absent going into the finals. They were ranked far lower than the players they defeated, and they didn’t expect to win, so they played more for the experience of playing at a US open, and … for fun. That doesn’t mean they didn’t play to win, just that they were unburdened with stories about not winning.

In a post-game interview with Raducanu, Chris Evert asked her if she was aware of the pressure her opponents faced coming up against her, a much younger player. Raducanu apparently was not aware, but Chris said that for the more experienced players the pressure was immense.

And that makes sense. These top-seeded players have more on the line, their rankings, their career, the impact on their earnings, and their reputations, especially the hit their reputations might take from losing to a teenager.

Absent these negative stories, Raducanu and Fernandez had the freedom to play the best tennis they could.

Our stories create our mood

The story that dominates our self-talk determines our mood, which in turn either frees us to perform at our best, or inhibits, even paralyses us.

Simon Biles bowed out of major Olympic events she trained for because of the pressure she felt to perform, and Naomi Osaki, a tennis great, also seems to be plagued by similar pressure.

You don’t need to be a professional level athlete to know what debilitating pressure feels like. We tell ourselves stories of consequence that chain us to our worst fears and almost guarantee we miss our target. The antidote is choosing stories that free us, and those are …

WTF Stories

About 30 seconds into this linked clip from the 1983 Risky Business, Joel (Tom Cruise) is given wisdom of the ages; the anti-pressure story antidote to any pressure we feel.

Every now and then, say What The F*@K! … WTF gives you freedom. Freedom brings opportunity. Opportunity makes your future.”

You don’t have to say WTF, but if the story gives you freedom, then it’s likely a WTF story. This is another way of saying, stop worrying about the worst that can happen and just go for it.

That’s what these teens have done in the 2021 US open heading to the finals, and it’s a great reminder for us all to bring this to the matches we play in our lives each and every day.