Leadership Lessons From Tennis – A Racket over a racket?

Novak Djokovic triumphs and teaches leadership lessons

The recently concluded French Open 2021 was a delight for everyone, whether you are a tennis enthusiast or not. The event concluded with the winner, Novak Djokovic, creating a few more records and giving away his racket as a souvenir to a young boy, who was one of the spectators at the Roland Garros stadium. While the boy’s reaction went viral and created much racket about a racket, there are quite a few powerful leadership lessons that can be drawn from this tournament and Novak Djokovic’s journey.

Turbocharge yourself with the top 5 leadership lessons from tennis, through the lens of Novak Djokovic at the French Open 2021.

Top 5 Leadership Lessons from Tennis

All Wheel Drive – Mastery Across Surfaces

There are four major tournaments in tennis, the Grand Slams, each of which are played on different surfaces. This implies that players who adapt their game to a particular surface tend to excel on that surface and may not perform as well on other surfaces. Rafael Nadal, the King of Clay, had won 13 out of the previous 16 editions of the French Open at Roland Garros, prior to this year’s tournament.

As a result of these factors, no man had ever won all the four Grand Slam tournaments at least twice in their career in the last 50 years. Until, Novak Djokovic made history by winning the French Open for the second time in his career. He is now the first man to achieve a double career Grand Slam in the last 50 years.

But, hang on. Is he the only person to achieve this feat during this period?

As it turns out, there are several women who have achieved this feat. The arch-rivals Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert Lloyd, have both won the career Grand Slam twice each. Serena Williams did it three times over. And, Steffi Graf, was one step ahead having won each of the four Grand Slams at least four times during her career!

#1 Leadership Lessons From Tennis:

Just as we have seen in tennis, continued and sustainable mastery across different domains in business and different aspects of society is rare. It is the exception, rather than the norm.

Secondly, as we celebrated Djokovic’s achievements, we were oblivious to the achievements of several super-women who had achieved this, and more, during their careers. Similarly, we see examples all around us when women adroitly juggle different aspects of life, including careers, household, care giving, etc. However, we somehow take that for granted!

You can read few more articles centered around women.

When The Chips Are Down

Just like life, sports has it’s ups and downs. One has to dig deep into one’s own reserves of mental strength to turn the tide, when things aren’t going your way. Novak Djokovic did just that in this year’s edition. The match is played over five sets in the Grand Slams, and he came down from two straight sets down to win the 4th round (pre-quarter finals) as well as the Finals.

This makes him the first man to win any Grand Slam tournament (in the professional era) after coming back twice from a two set deficit. Interestingly, he took a break after losing the first two sets in both of these matches and came back as a different person and a transformed player.

#2 Leadership Lessons From Tennis

Thankfully, Novak Djokovic himself decoded this leadership lesson for us. He mentioned in the post match conference that he had dropped physically and mentally in the second set and got a bit fatigued and allowed the opponent to dominate the proceedings. Then, he went out from the court, as he did in the fourth round when he was two sets down, and came back as a different player.

As per this article on ESPN, Djokovic said that there are two voices inside our heads. The first voice that told him that he cannot do it was dominant until the second set. Consequently, he took a break so that he could win the mental battle and suppress this voice. He activated the second voice that encouraged him and told him that he could do it. In his words, he repeated the second voice so much that he “tried to live it with my entire being”.

Related Read: How to have SUPER physical fitness and mental health.

From Rat Race to GOAT Race

We often bemoan the fact that we are part of a rat race. We often say that it is futile to be part of the rat race, since you will end up being a rat, even if you win! In this metaphorical rat race of life, we see almost everyone as a competitor. The mental model that we often follow is – “You Win, I Lose”. However, the race in the men’s tennis world for the last 15 years has been dominated by three players, all of whom are contenders for the title of GOAT – Greatest of All Time.

Interestingly, all three players have thrived in the face of this intense competition and have upped the ante. Roger Federer is still eyeing his next Grand Slam, even though he is 39 years old, not your typical age for playing professional tennis. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are not too far behind, at 35 and 34 years, respectively. Both Federer and Nadal have bagged 20 Grand Slam titles each and with this win, Djokovic is just one short at 19 Grand Slam wins.

#3 Leadership Lessons From Tennis

The next set of leadership lessons from tennis revolve around our mindset towards age and competition. Firstly, as all three of them are demonstrating on the tennis circuit, age is merely a number. If this hold true for one of the most physically demanding games, you can draw your own conclusions for other aspects of life, personally and professionally.

Secondly, we need to recalibrate the way we perceive competition. In the VUCA world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, we cannot fight our battles alone. We need to have a partnership and collaborative mindset to win in the VUCA world.

Related Read: What does it take to have a pitstop mindset, borrowed from the world of F1 racing?

What A Djoker

Novak Djokovic took partnering with competitors to another level. He would even impersonate them on court, and sometimes, even when playing against them. Of course, he did it in good humour, copying their mannerisms, much to the delight of the spectators.

These episodes, along with several other funny antics have earned him the nickname of Djoker or Joker in the tennis world. In fact, in the GOAT race, he is the only one who presents himself as a complete package. He is authentic, witty, humorous and spontaneous, in addition to sharing the traits of being supremely talented, disciplined and hard-working with the other GOAT contenders.

#4 Leadership Lessons From Tennis

The next set of leadership lessons from tennis is not that obvious. We all enjoyed playing sports in our childhood and many of us probably continue to enjoy playing well into adulthood. However, the gay abandon and sheer joy that we witness on children’s faces when they are playing, is sadly missing from the professional circuit. If sports were meant to be enjoyed, why are all these players so serious?

And, what about our work lives in offices or other environments, wherever your work takes you? Why can’t we lighten up and enjoy our work place with authenticity and lighten up once in a while?

Related Read: If you can’t have fun on court, here is how to have a fun time on Zoom.

Gratitude

Last but not the least, let us circle back to the famous racket episode. After winning the French Open, Novak Djokovic gave away his racket to a young boy in the stands. The boy was over the moon and he couldn’t control his excitement for the next minute or so, jumping up and down in pure joy. It was a treat to watch and brought a smile to everyone, even to those who had no context of what was going on.

#5 Leadership Lessons From Tennis

Once again, Novak Djokovic comes to our rescue to solve the mystery and unravel the last of the leadership lessons from tennis. In the post match briefing, Djokovic indicated that the young boy, who was sitting right behind him, was in his ears the entire team. The boy kept on giving useful advice, such as playing to the opponent’s backhand, etc. right through the match. He showed unflinching support and encouragement, even when Djokovic was two sets down.

Consequently, Djokovic decided to give away his match-winning racket to the boy, as a souvenir, as a token of his gratitude. In Djokovic’s words, “He was coaching me, literally; and I found that very cute and nice … It was my gratitude for him, sticking with me and supporting me“

Lessons from the GOATs – Federer, Nadal and Djokovic

While the above leadership lessons from tennis largely draw upon the experiences of Novak Djokovic, there is so much to learn from the other contemporary GOAT contenders – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. So, please don’t take offence if you are a Federer fan or a die-hard Nadal supporter or, if Djokovic’s antics and mannerisms have seemed over the top to you. Whether one is a GOAT or a rat, there is something to learn from each one of us around us, and that is the biggest leadership lesson from the world of sports!

Related Read: Career In Sports Management

About The Author

Rajiv Maheshwari is a business and start-up advisor, and the co-founder of From The Experts Mouth. He is a management professional with over 25 years of experience, and worked as CEO for a decade, and in leadership roles with NYSE listed companies such as Accenture and WNS.

He is a Chartered Accountant and MBA (Director’s Merit List from IIM Bangalore) and an autodidact, who is on the path of self-directed life long learning and sharing. He is a thought leader, author and keynote speaker and has developed several frameworks to bridge the gap between academia and industry.