Takeaway from M25 in Bosnia — My First Professional Tournament Post University

The most important takeaway from the tournament is that I need to change my relationship with my thoughts, especially when it comes to how I talk to myself while playing. I need to work on staying positive and optimistic at all times and feeding myself the right thoughts, because otherwise it becomes incredibly self-destructive and demoralizing if I judge myself based on mistakes. It takes all the joy out of competing and defeats the purpose of giving your best.

It's okay to be self-critical at times and to hold yourself to a high standard, but I should never put myself down the way I do now. I can't be so harsh or criticize myself in a way that's purely negative. My inner voice needs to be constructive, positive, and encouraging - something I can actually believe in and feed from. It should help me keep fighting, especially because tennis is such a grueling sport where results don't always come immediately and success isn't linear.

My inner voice needs to be constructive, positive, and encouraging - something I can actually believe in and feed from.

If I keep allowing myself to tear myself down, it's only going to end in disaster. That's why I think this is my biggest takeaway, and it starts today.

By the end of the match I was playing in qualies, I was already doing it a little better, and I caught a small glimpse of what it should look like. Now it's all about repetition - repetition until it becomes second nature and this way of thinking becomes my new mindset.