Pay Attention To The Warning Signs Your Body & Mind Are Sending You

As I watch the US Open final from 2016 between Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic, there are some interesting observations that I can relate to as it pertains to my career and the knee injury that eventually ended my singles career when I was closing in on the Top 200 singles in the ATP.

Much talk by the commentators during the US Open final on Djokovic was about his injury struggles during the lead up to the tournament and at the tournament itself. He had been treated for several injuries or pain issues during the US Open and while he still got to the final, he was far from being at his physical best. Therefore, the warning signs were evident at least in terms of Novak’s physical fitness and health.

Also, you could see by his emotions and body language during the match that he was getting very frustrated and was speaking in an animated way to his box. Clearly, his mental calmness and centeredness was off too.

Therefore, both his body and his mind were showing signs of fatigue; of not being in optimal health. This was a clear warning sign about addressing these issues.

But as athletes, we are trained to play through pain. Our whole life, we train hard, constantly push ourselves and never give in. That same drive, passion, and commitment that pushes us to strive to be better, can sometimes work against us when we don’t pay attention to the warning signs of our physical and mental health. When we are teenagers, we get away with pushing through pain or fatigue, but later as we grow older and get into our mid 20s, the body and mind have gone through a lot. At these times, we need to be more sensitive and recognize when we need to take a step back and give ourselves time for recovery.

When I was in my mid 20s, in the summer I started to feel some pain in my knees during the grass court season. I remember noticing it and seeing a few trainers and doctors, but I kept playing and training. I started to do some specific exercises for the knee and in the off season, kept working out and doing my training. After about 9–10 months of that initial pain episode, my injury flared up during a tournament and got to a point where I had to withdraw mid way into the match. For the next few months, I tried to rehab and get back on the court, but my knee pain was no better. It ended up being a year and a half before I was able to get back on the tournament court again and while all the rehab work I did paid off to a point where I could play again, I still had a lot of pain and had to eventually end my singles career and focus on alternative options, which for me was to give doubles a shot.

The point is this, if I had recognized the issue right at the beginning and slowed down some and taken more time to recover, I may have been able to prevent the injury from getting worse. Similarly, in Novak’s case, despite the warning signs during the 2016 season including the US Open, he kept going on and then after about 8–9 months, had an injury that forced him out of the game for a lot of this season. Again, could Novak have prevented what happened this year? There may not be a clear answer, but my sense is that his body and mind was telling him something leading up to his serious injury and had he recognized and taken a step back to recuperate and restore his health, he may have been able to prevent things from getting a lot worse.

Again, it is not part of a committed and driven athlete’s nature to give in to physical pains and symptoms, but as we grow older, we need to pay more attention. From the examples I have shared (including my own personal experience), I hope you will take a few thoughts away to be aware of the signals your body and mind are sending you. At times, the right decision is to step back — to give yourself some time to rest, recover, and slowly get back into things. The tennis journey is a long one; as is often said “it is a marathon, not a sprint.” So recognize that you are on a marathon and you need to pace yourself and take care of your body and mind which is going to help you travel through the long journey!

All the best!

Harsh