🎾What Tennis Can Teach Us About Presence

A masterclass from the 2021 US Open Women’s Final

It was the end of an electric first set of the 2021 US Women’s Open. 

Two unknown teenagers, Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez were facing off in their first grand slam. 

Raducanu was up 5 games to 4. They were locked in a back-and-forth deuce. 

Six attempts later, Raducanu broke through the deadlock to win the first set. She went on to win the second set and the match.

In the span of a couple of hours, Raducanu went from being ranked 150th in the world to winning her first Grand Slam.

She is only 18 years old. And her opponent had just turned 19.

It wasn’t only the players’ tennis skills that wowed the audience. It was their presence that captivated the crowd.

Even the commentators were blown away by their razor-sharp focus. Their unwavering concentration. And their absolute calm during high-stress moments. 

It’s not unusual to see presence on display in competitive sport. But to see these young, less experienced players demonstrate such a high capacity for it was remarkable.

Reflecting on the game Raducanu said:

“Just staying in the moment, focusing on what I had to do, the process, the mindset, really helped in those tough times.”

Cultivating your presence can help you become a better leader.

It helps you connect with your purpose, boost your credibility, and increase your influence. It is an essential ingredient for public speaking. And it is mission-critical for anyone who leads groups.

There is a widespread belief that presence is something you are born with. Some people have it, and some people don’t.

But it turns out that’s not the case. There are a number of ways that you can develop your presence with time and practice.

Presence is a skill that tennis players consciously train. 

In his book The Inner Game of Tennis, Timothy Gallwey describes presence as mastering the art of “relaxed concentration”. Players learn to quiet their busy judgemental selves. This allows the “feeling-and-doing self” to get into a flow. In this state, he writes, “the mind is so concentrated, so focused, that it is still”. 

One way that players develop presence is to focus on breathing. 

Breathing is at the heart of the inner game of tennis. Gallwey is not talking about controlling your breath. He’s talking about observing breath going in, and going out. 

He explains, 

“When the mind is fastened to the rhythm of breathing, it tends to be absorbed and calm”.

And that’s how players overcome self-doubt and anxiety. 

In the match, both players appeared to be wholeheartedly tuned into their inner game. The first thing Raducanu did when she finally won the critical first set was to exhale. And then she let out a triumphant cheer. 

Watch the US Open Women’s Final highlights for your masterclass on presence here. 

Gwyn Wansbrough is a Facilitator and Experience Designer based in Barcelona, Spain. She empowers people and organizations around the world to create dynamic and empowering learning experiences online and in person. She runs an online cohort-based course called Breakthrough Facilitation. She writes about facilitation, creativity, and learning in a weekly newsletter called The Quest. Subscribe here or visit www.gwynwansbrough.com to learn more.