My mind started wandering. I started playing carefully, instead of playing the way that had gotten me to that point. I had to force myself to keep driving the ball.
Meaning of the quote
The quote describes how the athlete's performance changed when their mind started to wander during a game. They started playing more carefully, instead of using the style that had helped them succeed earlier. To keep doing well, they had to make themselves continue hitting the ball aggressively, even though their mind was distracted.
About Tracy Austin
Tracy Austin was an American former world number one tennis player who won three major titles, including the US Open in 1979 and 1981. She remains the youngest US Open female singles champion and the youngest inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Despite a successful career, a series of injuries and a serious automobile accident in 1989 cut her career short.
More quotes from Tracy Austin
To meet my goals, I couldn’t let up when I was playing tennis.
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My mom and dad met at UCLA when he as a captain in the Air Force and she was in her junior year.
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I started tennis around age 2.
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I began playing in the Pacific Coast Indoor Tennis Championships.
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I was planning to remain an amateur for a while.
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My sister and I are opposites in many ways. She is six feet tall, while I’m five feet four.
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We’ve gotta give Richard Williams a lot of credit – to give us two number one champions is a phenomenal feat.
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My mind started wandering. I started playing carefully, instead of playing the way that had gotten me to that point. I had to force myself to keep driving the ball.
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My brother Jeff is now my agent at Advantage International in Washington, D.C.
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Winning that first game was so important; my mother always said that the first game of the second set was the chance to keep it going if you were ahead or change things if you were behind.
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When I was 11, I won my first nationals at Savannah, defeating Kelly Henry in the finals.
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The prize money for first place was $2,800, but I didn’t take it because I was still an amateur.
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I won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in 1980.
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Mary Joe Fernandez rarely has a bad loss. She never tries for stupid shots.
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Venus hasn’t been to the semis for a couple of years in a Grand Slam – she’s been coming back from injury.
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From one match to the next, I kept on winning.
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Pam has always been my glamorous big sister – 13 years older than I. She played on the women’s circuit for nine years and came home to tell me stories of France, Japan.
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I didn’t want to just rally at the baseline, even though that happened a lot.
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