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If ever there was a match that points a microscope on the mental challenges that competing in tennis ensures it was this match.

It spoke to the mess of applying what tennis psychology legend Dr Allen Fox calls“The #1 Rule of Tennis Success” that even the greatest tennis competitors can make:

Never Do Anything That Doesn’t Increase The Chance of Winning

It seems like this should be so simple right…

So why is it that even Serena Williams, the player who has successfully applied this rule at the highest level perhaps better than anyone in tennis history, so spectacularly failed to apply it in the final?

Well, as simple as it seems, the human condition combined with the nature of tennis means that what seems like it should be so straight forward is actually incredibly hard to do.

But Why Is This?

The basic reason is that losing is emotionally painful due to our brain’s inclination of interpreting a tennis math akin to a life and death...

A couple of years ago I wrote an article that proposed that Serena Williams might just be the mentally toughest player the game has ever seen...

By reasserting her dominance over the field in claiming her 7th Australian Open at age 35, I thought it worth revisiting this proposal...

After all, throughout her career she has:

Played her best in the most important matches...

Been clutch towards the end of sets...

Recovered and won many big matches from dire score lines...

And like we saw throughout this years Aussie Open she tends to steamroll when in front.

While arguments against Serena’s mental toughness greatness generally center on her superior physical ability competing against a class of opponents that have no claim to all-time greatness, let's revisit an updated statistical look at Serena’s Grand Slam record when considering the arguments for.

1.) Playing Her Best In Big Matches

While Serena has shown a few more vulnerabilities in big matches later in...