Page 29 - Women’s Health - Australia (February 2020)

women in sport
THe momEnt
Serena Williams
challenges the
French Open’s strict
dress code – twice
THe leSsoN
Don’t be afraid
to be authentic
Serena Williams forges her own path,
regardless of what others think. Case
in point: her unique on-court style.
She’s worn tutus, sure, but what
really got everyone talking was
her custom-made Nike catsuit at the
2018 French Open. Not only was it
designed with her health in mind
(the outfit was engineered to prevent
blood clots, something the athlete
suffered with after the birth of her
daughter), but it also made her “feel
like a superhero”. However, French
officials said the outfit went “too far”,
banning it for not “respect[ing] the
game”. Fast forward to 2019? Williams
debuted a two-piece set emblazoned
with the words ‘Mother’, ‘Goddess’,
‘Queen’ and ‘Champion’ in French.
YoUR seRve
Williams’ outfits cause a stir, but
she continues to make a statement
regardless. “That’s a critical skill,”
says Simpson. “It’s not easy to be
brave and not care what people think,
because a lot of us do. But if you can
adopt that type of attitude, then it
will really help you in life, in terms
of success and performances. It’s
important to live your life and not
someone else’s.” Take a leaf out of
Williams’ playbook and challenge
yourself to do something you’re
afraid of because of what others
might think, says life coach and
director of Upstairs Coaching Alex
Kingsmill. “Find a way to take a single
step towards [it]. It doesn’t have to be
huge – maybe it’s doing a dance class
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES
or speaking in public. Push your own
boundaries a little.” You’ve got this.
PRO U D L Y SU PP O R TE D B Y
THe momEnt
Naomi Osaka
supports a
devastated Coco
Gauff at the US Open
THe leSsoN
Aim to lift other
women up, always
Tennis can ignite a fierce rivalry, but
also true moments of connection.
After defeating 15-year-old Coco
Gauff (above left) in straight sets at
the US Open in 2019, Naomi Osaka
invited the visibly emotional teenager
to join her for her post-match,
on-court interview. After calling Gauff
and her parents “amazing”, Osaka said
of the act, “I thought about what I
wanted her to feel leaving the court.
I wanted her to have her head high,
not walk off the court sad. I want her
to be aware that she’s accomplished so
much, and she’s still so young.” The
moment warmed hearts and made
headlines for its humility and grace.
YoUR seRve
This sportswomanship and kindness
is something we can weave into our
professional lives. Kingsmill says,
“One of the big things I see people
speaking about in the workplace is a
fear that if they support other women,
there’ll be less of the pie for them.
These interactions [between Osaka
and Gauff] speak to the opposite.
Treating another woman well doesn’t
detract from what you have. Lifting
someone else up elevates you. There
is a huge strength and power in
women supporting other women.”
THe momEnt
Ash Barty graciously
accepts her
Wimbledon loss
THe leSsoN
Never let
disappointment
derail you
There’s heaps to love about Ash Barty
– her down-to-earth attitude and
love of throwing Disney quotes into
post-match press conferences – but,
it’s the Aussie champ’s resilience
that we want to copy and paste into
our own lives. Fresh from being a
newly minted world number one,
Barty went into Wimbledon 2019
as a red-hot favourite – only to be
knocked out in the fourth round to
unseeded Alison Riske. Instead of
having a Nick Kyrgios-sized tantrum,
she said, “It’s not the end of the
world ... I do everything in my power
to try and win every single tennis
match. But that’s not the case. It’s
disappointing right now. Give me an
hour or so, we’ll be all good. The sun’s
still going to come up tomorrow.”
YoUR seRve
That ability to look at loss with
perspective is a key to success.
“[Barty] looks at life as bigger
than that single experience. [It’s
about] positioning loss in context,”
explains Kingsmill. Simpson adds
that Barty seems to be as focused
on the process as the outcome.
“She’s about learning from her
performances,” she explains.
“Champions make mistakes as much
as other people, they just learn from
them and move on much quicker
to her work with mindset coach Ben
to the next focus point.” Fun fact:
Barty credits her sense of perspective
Crowe, who has also mentored
surfing champ Stephanie Gilmore
and the Aussie cricket team. wh
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