Venus Williams on coping with mental pressure as a youngster: "Don't think I really understood anything, just went out there and played"
Venus Williams opened up on how she coped with mental pressure while being young.
The American is among the finest champions tennis has ever seen and is well known for having a strong mentality. Williams was asked how she dealt with mental pressure as a youngster in a recent interaction with her followers on social media.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner responded by saying that having pressure is a privilege as it means one is on track to achieving their dreams and goals. She added that she did not have a good understanding of what pressure was in her younger days.
"That's a really good question. Pressure, first of all, is a privilege. If you're under pressure, then you have this privilege to do something and hopefully achieve something in getting close to your dreams. So, first you got to see it the right way. Second is preparation. If you prepare yourself mentally, physically, emotionally, whatever it is, then you're gonna feel more confident when it is time to deal with that pressure," Venus Williams said.
"And third, I don't think I really understood anything, just went out there and played. I think the beauty of youth too, that innocence, just go play, and there's something special about that. There's also something amazing about experience, you can use it but being inexperienced also has its advantages," she added.
"You have to remember what you're doing to get that lead, just keep doing that" - Venus Williams on how to hold on to a lead in a match
Venus Williams was also asked how she held on to her lead in a match, a question she really liked. She replied by saying that a player must remember what they did to get in the lead and keep doing that or he/she will risk overthinking things.
"This is also a great question, I feel like we should do a YouTube video on this too. When you're leading in a match, you really have to remember what you're doing to get that lead, just keep doing that. A lot of times, we want to hold on to it and protect it, and then we start to get tentative, we start to overthink," Venus Williams said.
"That's not actually what you did to get that lead, so you have to have that standard of discipline of what you expect from yourself on the court and then doing exactly that . Even if you lose doing it, you're doing the right thing and you lose, you'll just get better at doing the right thing," she added.
The five-time Wimbledon winner also said that while one should stay aggressive, he or she should also not "go crazy".
"Some things are challenging like serving out a match, when you're serving out a set or that match, and that's when you go to your basics, 'What do you do well? Your forehand cross-court is better, set the point up so that you can hit that or close out the point on that. And remember, nobody's gonna give it to you, you've got to take it, so stay aggressive but don't go crazy," she expressed.