Louisa Chirico
April 19, 2019
April 19, 2019 “2016 was probably the best year of my career so far. I broke into the top 100 for the first time and had some of my best results to date. Unfortunately, that season completely changed my expectations. I began to put a lot more pressure on myself. I felt like more people were watching me now, which made me uncomfortable. I liked flying under the radar and didn’t want to be in the spotlight. My preseason that year was awful, since my focus was on all the wrong things. I was so worried about defending/recreating the previous year I had, that I barely had a single productive practice. A month later, I remember sitting outside the locker room after a first round loss in the Australian open, crying, feeling overwhelmingly stressed out. I still can’t put my finger on why I was so upset at that exact moment, but I knew I was in trouble. It was only the second tournament of the year for me, but I remember feeling like I was already mentally fried. ‘Is this what I’m going to have to deal with for the entire season, or for the next several?’ Last season,
April 19, 2019 “2016 was probably the best year of my career so far. I broke into the top 100 for the first time and had some of my best results to date. Unfortunately, that season completely changed my expectations. I began to put a lot more pressure on myself. I felt like more people were watching me now, which made me uncomfortable. I liked flying under the radar and didn’t want to be in the spotlight. My preseason that year was awful, since my focus was on all the wrong things. I was so worried about defending/recreating the previous year I had, that I barely had a single productive practice. A month later, I remember sitting outside the locker room after a first round loss in the Australian open, crying, feeling overwhelmingly stressed out. I still can’t put my finger on why I was so upset at that exact moment, but I knew I was in trouble. It was only the second tournament of the year for me, but I remember feeling like I was already mentally fried. ‘Is this what I’m going to have to deal with for the entire season, or for the next several?’ Last season,