Serena Williams Loss Says a Lot About FOCUS and Winning

Serena William's loss to Naomi Osaka along with the $17,000 fine made for great TV.  I watched it live Saturday and saw some great tennis including an Osaka serve that was clocked at 117mph.  The game also drove home to me the importance of focus.  Whether you're playing tennis or running a business, if you lose your focus you just cannot perform at your best.

If you missed the news on the match, Williams was down to Osaka.  Then in the second set, she starts building momentum and was picking on Osaka's weak spots.  She was starting to make progress.  Then umpire Carlos Ramos gives Williams a warning because her coach was coaching her from the stands.  That was an odd call, but it threw Williams.  She spent over a minute telling Ramos how unfair the call was.

Williams later in frustration smashes her racket.  That cost her a point in the next game with Osaka starting a new game 15-0.   Finally, Williams gets into another argument with Ramos is issued another warning costing her a full game which put Osaka up even higher against her.

What was Williams there to do?  She was there to take the US Open Women's Final.  She was there to beat Osaka.  Given how tough an opponent she was up against, she couldn't afford even a minor distraction and much less a major one like this one.

Watch my video blog below for my commentary on this and how it works in my business.