Yesterday at Wimbledon, Jannik Sinner gave us a masterclass in resilience. Just weeks after his heartbreaking loss to Alcaraz at the French Open, he bounced back to claim the Wimbledon title, his first, and so well deserved.
Whether you like tennis or not, take 5 min to watch the highlights of yesterday's championship:
I love the sport and think tennis is such a brilliant metaphor for us as performers because it captures so well the psychological and emotional reality of what we face in ways that other sports just don't.
- The mental game is paramount: it's notoriously psychological - you can see players completely unravel or find incredible focus in real time. Just like musicians, tennis players are essentially performing solo under intense pressure, with nowhere to hide when things go wrong.
- The pressure is similar: Both involve performing in front of an audience, often in high-stakes situations where you get one shot to get it right. There's that same mixture of adrenaline, nerves, and the need to perform despite internal chatter.
- Individual moments add up: You give your all to every point in tennis, then immediately have to forget and reset for the next one. You can't dwell on that double fault or missed note because the next point is already starting.
- Recovery time is minimal. In tennis, you have maybe 16-20 seconds between points to mentally reset. Musicians face similar quick turnarounds in auditions especially - but also between movements, or solos.
- The learning never ends. You're constantly working on your game, always evolving, always striving for better.
- The loneliness factor: you're in the practice room alone, in recitals and auditions it's just you! No one's going to bail you out.
It's not all scary news... read these stats and you'll feel better about it all:
It was in Roger Federer's Dartmouth's 2024 convocation speech that explains exactly how champions like Sinner do it.
The tennis legend shared three life lessons that hit different when you're navigating the ups and downs of auditions (or your career):
Lesson 1: Life is bigger than your "court"
Your identity isn't just "musician." You're a whole human with interests, relationships, and dreams beyond your instrument. Don't shrink yourself to fit one box.
Lesson 2: It's just a point
That audition you bombed? That gig that went sideways? Give it everything you've got, then let it go. Win or lose, it's behind you. Don't camp out there mentally. Sinner didn't dwell on Paris – he used it as fuel for Wimbledon.
Lesson 3: Failure is your friend (seriously)
Here's the kicker: Federer won nearly 80% of his 1,526 singles matches but only 54% of the points he played. Let that sink in. The GOAT of tennis won barely more than half his points and still dominated for decades.
It's not about being perfect – it's about how quickly you bounce back from the inevitable misses. Your attitude toward failure and your recovery speed? That's what separates the winners from everyone else.
As musicians, this is so much of what we struggle with too. We obsess over that one wrong note, that missed entrance, that audition that didn't go our way, why the contractor didn't hire us. But here's the truth: even the greatest musicians have more "misses" than perfect ones. The magic isn't in flawless execution – it's in showing up fully for each moment, then moving forward.
Especially when you're going from audition to audition, remember Sinner's journey. That "no" from the French Open didn't define him – it prepared him for Wimbledon. Your next audition isn't about erasing the last one; it's about bringing everything you've learned to this moment.
What's your next point!?
Keep swinging,
Ixi
P.S. Keep you eyes peeled for more audition workshops in the coming weeks!
Join the book club: read the book + meet live with Molly Gebrian, author of Learn Faster, Perform Better: A Musician's Guide to the Neuroscience of Practicing
She's a professional violist and scholar with a background in cognitive neuroscience. Her area of expertise is applying the research on learning and memory to practicing and performing music. We hope to see you inside (and, it's free)!
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