Jabeur's Implosion

I just watched Ons Jabeur lose her second consecutive single's final. It was not a close well-fought match as Jabeur pretty much choked. Before the match, they play pre-recorded interviews with the players. Vondrousava was confident on the verge of cocky, and didn't even mention her opponent once. She seems like a cool cat--was not even seeded, she doesn't even have a sponsor, her husband is at home taking care of the the cat. Jabeur was a bundle of nerves. Apparently, she has been working with a sports psychologist to build her nerves. At one point in the interview, she appeared to repeat her affirmations, "Whatever happens, I love myself and accept myself". She also said she has been working on her self-talk. I am not going to deign to compare myself with an elite athlete, but I also have an anxious personality and I have also choked in the few competitive games of badminton I played at the school level. I remember one particular game when I was playing with a much weaker opponent whose only decent shot was a jump smash. All I had to do was serve low and play near the net, but I imploded. It felt like I was fighting myself and losing, almost like an act of self-harm. Having a match slip out of your fingers and watching yourself go down without a fight is a pretty shitty feeling even in a school match, so I can't even imagine what its like in a Wimbledon final. It can often seem unfair that some people are born with emotional resilience and others have to work hard and work constantly at it. But, thus is life and bad luck can come in far worse forms.