Man, am I tired of watching the women pros choke.
Victoria Mboko, the Canadian wildcard entry who took the title in Montreal last night, is the real deal, and I absolutely mean her no disrespect. Had Naomi Osaka played at her full capabilities, she still might have lost. Mboko has power and speed and an effective drop shot, and she earned her win.
But Osaka choked, and choked badly. Worse, she knew she was choking and just gave up, slumping listlessly through the third set with vacant eyes. If I’d bought tickets to that final, I’d be demanding my money back.
Trouble is, she’s not the only one. One day earlier, Elena Rybakina choked in the semis, looking positively frozen with fear. Back in June, Aryna Sabalenka fell apart in the French Open final, racking up an astonishing 70 unforced errors (and yes, she handled it gracelessly afterwards). Amanda Anisimova froze in the Wimbledon final, getting double-bageled in 57 painful-to-watch minutes. These women all possess enough firepower to take the racquet out of their opponents’ hands, but this year, at crucial moments, they couldn’t put the ball in the court.
This just doesn’t seem to happen in the men’s game. Take, for instance, this year’s men’s French Open final. Jannik Sinner held three championship points in the third set against Carlos Alcaraz before getting tight and letting Alcaraz back in the match. But — and this is key — he didn’t just go away. He didn’t spiral out of control. He regrouped and fought back, and we ended up with what will be remembered as one of the greatest tennis matches in history. Sinner lost, but he made Alcaraz beat him. He didn’t beat himself.
And while Osaka was spraying her shots all over Montreal, Ben Shelton and Karen Khachanov were pounding the fuzz off the ball in the men’s final in Toronto. Paul Annacone’s understated comment when it wrapped up — “And so a match that promised to be very entertaining delivers.” — felt like a wry dig at the Osaka debacle.
I’m aware that I’m cherry-picking examples. Obviously a handful of matches is hardly a statistically valid sample size. And there are many women players who do NOT beat themselves. Serena Williams leaps to mind, as well as Elina Svitolina and Danielle Collins among the current crop of players. They may not always be able to summon their “A” game, but they always bring a game.
Still, there seems to be a problem afoot on the women’s tour. I would suggest that it has something to do with women being more self-conscious than men because we’re always the object of The Gaze and we internalize that and yada yada, but I’m not sure that theory holds water. Women have always been subjected to the gaze, but I don’t remember women players of old being as downright flaky as the current generation. Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis — I can’t think of a regular choker in those earlier generations with the notable exception of Jana Novotna.
So what’s the reason for the newfound frailty on the women’s side? Is it the omnipresent gaze of social media coupled with the online bullying by losing bettors? Is it the bigger paychecks at stake? Are nerves contagious, with one player’s choke begetting the next? Is it just something in the Gatorade?
And why isn’t it happening to the men?
On the bright side, Madison Keys took home the Australian Open trophy in January, eight years after falling apart in spectacular fashion in the US Open final. When asked what helped her finally break through, Keys didn’t cite her new racquet or a new fitness regimen or her new husband/coach. She said, “A lot of therapy.”
To that end, the USTA launched various mental health initiatives for the pro circuit in 2021, including making quiet rooms and mental health professionals available at tournaments. Here’s hoping these programs will start paying dividends soon in the form of more resilience for the players — and better matches for the spectators.
What do you think? Have you been disappointed by the quality of the last two major finals on the women’s side? Are the women choking more than the men — and more than they used to? Or do I just have bad luck with the matches I choose to watch?
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Hi Deb, no I don’t think you’re cherry picking at all. Of course there is choking in the men’s game, but nothing on the same scale as in the women’s game. We touched on the subject a while ago with the BJK quote “everyone else is afraid of winning quote”. I saw some research a few years ago which suggested the opposite about women tennis players performing under pressure in comparison with men
https://hbr.org/2017/11/women-respond-better-than-men-to-competitive-pressure
In my opinion, this research completely misses the crux of the matter about women players choking. It’s not when they’re level and serving in the first set that they collapse. Or even when behind, when they often produce their best tennis. It’s when they have a lead and victory seems within their grasp. Hence why the BJK quote is absolutely spot on.
Right — the Billie Jean King quote! Thanks for the reminder of that old post (and here’s the link if anyone is interested: https://littleyellowball.blog/2018/11/07/a-fear-of-winning/)
That Harvard study is intriguing and worth digging into at some point. I notice they used data from 2010, so I found the WTA top ten from that year: Wozniacki, Zvonareva, Clijsters, S Williams, V Williams, Stosur, Schiavone (god, I miss her), Jankovic, Dementieva, and Azarenka.
Notable never-chokers: Wozniacki, S and V Williams, Clijsters, Schiavone, Azarenka.
Notable frequent choker: Stosur
I can’t quite recall for Dementieva and Zvonareva; maybe someone else can. Jankovic wasn’t a choker, just unfocused.
Yikes — I’m on the dangerous precipice of a deep rabbit hole of research — looking at the details of the study, checking Zvonareva’s records, comparing to this year’s top ten — but I don’t have time for it now! So hard to curb my nerd on this one.
But I’m glad someone else is seeing what I am in the women’s game at the moment! I’m a big fan of women’s tennis, so it’s very distressing!
Do quiet rooms and more therapy lead to more resilience on the court — or less? The overall trend in American society seems to be toward young people who can’t tolerate distress and show poor resilience. Is that what’s eating up the women on the court too? Of course, that would be the same for men — except that men, especially male athletes, have always been expected not to show weakness. Unless they’re McEnroe throwing tantrums and racquets on the court 🎾☺️
So even the athletes are snowflakes??? Lol. But it’s an interesting thought. Is the rash of choking just part of the larger generational trend? I have read a theory that all this preoccupation with mental health is making people less able to function with what, in prior times, would just have been considered personality traits or passing phases. Back in the day, you just had to get on with it.
Also, get off my lawn!
Super thought provoking.
Most interesting is your asking if throwing in the towel is a “women’s thing.” We’ve seen men do it too but you are right about it not happening with the champions. Osaka has always had a weak competitive makeup and I am wondering whether it is her specifically or women having a propensity.
I am going to ask Grok later…
Osaka threw in the towel, but I don’t think the other women I named in the post did. They didn’t want to give up; they just couldn’t perform.
Your comment about Osaka having a “weak competitive makeup” is interesting. In her first slam — where she defeated Serena, hitting winners and aces while thousands of people were booing — she performed at a super-human level. To be able to tune out the chaos around her and play lights-out tennis suggests an almost preternatural drive and resilience. So where has that strength and desire gone? It’s a mystery, but I hope she finds it again because at her best she’s incredible to watch.