OctoberWatch: Billie Jean King’s Advice for Young Players
<![CDATA[Hall of Famer offers simple and strong advice in ITF virtual power hour.]]>
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By Chris Oddo
10/08/2021
Billie Jean King has excelled in many roles over the course of her distinguished career including Grand Slam champion, Original 9 member, social justice warrior, coach and mentor.During a virtual Q&A with the players competing at the 2021 Junior Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Antalya, Turkey, King offered some simple, strong advice when junior Aaron Yu asked her "What advice would you give to your 16 year old self."Zverev: Welcome InvestigationKing cited strong self-belief—and emulating the work ethic of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic—as essential elements for young players.
“If you listen to Novak Djokovic this year in his interviews, then you know why he’s No. 1 in the world—because he pays the price," King says at about the 90-second mark of the video above. "He’s the most fit, he’s always looking for the edge, he trains right, he stretches all the time.“So at 16 just believe in yourself, but pay the price.”The iconic champion cited three lessons she's learned from tennis that she continues to apply to life."There’s three things: Relationships are everything," King said. "Number two, to keep learning and to keep learning how to learn."And number three, and this is what every athlete does: Be a problem solver and an innovator. I really want us to have a culture, among all of us, that’s strong.”Photo credit: Laureus World Sports Awards]]>
Chris Oddo. Chris Oddo is a freelance sportswriter, podcaster, blogger and social media marker who is a lead contributor to Tennisnow.com. He also writes for USOpen.org, Rolandgarros.com, BNPParibasOpen.com, TennisTV.com, WTAtennis.com and the official US Open program.
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