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What the US Open’s Biggest Names Said Under Pressure, and What You Can Learn

ByMark Sapsford

Six practical lessons in keeping your confidence, handling disappointment and choosing your next step when the pressure is on.

Carlos Alcaraz had been on court for four hours and 28 minutes when his US Open ended. It was 3:33 in the morning, he had lost a fifth-set tie-break to Ben Shelton, and he was able to say this:

“I leave the court happy. I leave the court with a smile, healthy, and this is what I needed.”

After that much effort, with so little separating the players, there was plenty he could have been disappointed about. Yet his attention was on something he had gained.

That is what interests me about the language from the final week of this year’s US Open. Elena Rybakina and Alexander Zverev left with the singles trophies, but there was something to learn from the players who lost too. Their first words can offer clues to the instinctive beliefs of System 1: how they see themselves, what they make of the result and what they believe is possible next.

These interviews give us moments to examine through The 7 Skills to impress™. A few sentences cannot tell us everything about someone’s Identity, but they can reveal how a person is explaining a particular difficulty, and whether that explanation leaves them able to move forward.

Alcaraz had returned from a wrist injury. Against Shelton, he recovered from two sets to one down and took the match into a deciding tie-break. Afterwards, he spoke about the effort he had found when he was tired:

“After the third set, physically I was really tired, but I found a way to push myself up and to physically give extra.”

He also said:

“It was close. So I’m just not going to be disappointed about not getting the win at the end. I’m just happy. I’m just proud about myself, about how I fought.”

I love the precision of “how I fought”. He has something specific to feel proud of, something he can recognise in himself and take into his next match.

This is where the Elevate Formula becomes useful. A defeat can remain Narrow, confined to this match, while the way he competed gives him evidence of Capability to take into the next one. Alcaraz had lost, and he had also shown himself that he could compete deep into a demanding match.

When we review our own setbacks, it is worth giving that evidence proper attention. After an unsuccessful interview, for example, we can look at how well we prepared, where we answered clearly and what we handled better than before. Those details help us decide what to retain and what to improve.

Rybakina faced a different difficulty. She had arrived in New York dealing with injury, uncertain about how the tournament would unfold. By the end of it, she was champion.

Her explanation took us back to the work along the way:

“I was coming here a little bit injured. Not a little bit injured. And somehow day by day we were trying to find a way, adapting to all the challenges every day I was waking up with.”

The useful words here are “day by day we were trying to find a way”. They describe manageable steps towards a much larger ambition.

This is the thinking behind Stops and Shots. You frame the ambition, then identify the actions available to you now. Each day brings a fresh assessment of what is possible and what needs adjusting.

We can use that approach whenever a goal begins to feel too large. A difficult project becomes easier to approach when we can name the next conversation, decision or piece of work that will move it forward. That gives attention somewhere useful to go.

Across the net, Sabalenka had been trying to win a third consecutive US Open title. After losing, she smashed her racket, then had to speak in front of the crowd.

“The last thing I want to do now is give a speech, but I’ll try my best. Obviously I’m disappointed but I want to congratulate Elena on an incredible year and an incredible result. Enjoy it.”

Fifteen months earlier, after the 2025 French Open final in Paris, Sabalenka had responded very differently. She attributed Coco Gauff’s victory to her own mistakes, playing down her opponent’s performance. She later called those remarks “unprofessional” and apologised to Gauff. Source: The Pressure Test: Aryna Sabalenka

This time, she had smashed her racket and was plainly hurting, yet she found the words to give her opponent credit. That suggests she had learnt something useful from a public mistake: even while disappointed, she could recognise what the woman across the net had done well.

Later, discussing the match, her assessment became more specific:

“She played really aggressive, great tennis, and she was simply a better player today than me.”

“Today” is the takeaway here. It keeps the comparison within a particular occasion. In Elevate Formula terms, the setback remains Narrow, with room for the difficulty to be Fleeting.

A poor performance becomes much harder to recover from when we make it Broad and Lasting: everything is going wrong, and it will keep going wrong. Sabalenka’s sentence leaves open the possibility that tomorrow, she can be the better player, and that builds hope, optimism and self-belief.

Manage Your State includes being able to recover enough composure to make that kind of assessment. We can hear disappointment in her words alongside an ability to recognise what her opponent did well.

Shelton’s challenge included the attention surrounding his first Grand Slam final. He had beaten Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe, and now had the prospect of winning his home major in front of him.

He described the unfamiliarity openly:

“This whole tournament at this point has been uncharted territory. I’m in positions I’ve never been in before. I’ve beaten guys that I’ve never beaten before. I’m just excited to put it all out on the line.”

Then he said something that gives us a useful clue about his Attention Direction:

“I think I’ve grown up. I’m more mature. More focused. I know what my goal is. I know what my job is out here. I’m 100% committed to those goals.”

“I know what my job is out here” brings his attention back to something he can act on. The history surrounding the match belongs to a much larger story. His job is to play.

That is the practical value of Identify Your Outcome. Before a difficult meeting or presentation, decide what you want to do and keep it within your control. You might want to explain a proposal clearly, understand an objection or ask a question you have been avoiding. A precise Outcome helps you recognise what deserves your attention when pressure becomes intense.

Shelton also made room for pride before he knew the result:

“It’s going to be a war on Sunday. I’m going to leave it all on the court. Win or lose, obviously, I’m going to be proud of myself and what I’ve done, but this is the dream.”

He could want the title intensely and still recognise the progress that had brought him to the final. That is a useful position from which to compete.

Zverev, who went on to beat him, had his own expectations to handle. Asked about reaching more Grand Slam finals that season than Alcaraz and Sinner, he replied:

“I believed in it. I believed that it’s possible. I think not many of you guys did.”

This is an example of Internal reference: he describes a belief he held while others remained unconvinced. Their judgement had not become the condition for his confidence.

Before facing Shelton and the home crowd, he said:

“I think it’s going to be a fantastic feeling playing a final in a sold-out Arthur Ashe and not in an empty one. For me, a loud and energetic crowd is always great, as long as they’re fair.”

He was describing something he could enjoy about the occasion. That’s important because the meaning we give a situation contributes to our Edited Reality, the version of events we experience and respond to.

For someone preparing to speak in a room full of people, there is a useful question here: what about this occasion could help me do my job well? Interest, energy and challenging questions may all be useful, even when they feel uncomfortable at first.

Tiafoe’s words bring us to the part that often matters most after disappointment: returning to work.

After another US Open semi-final defeat, he was clear about both the ambition and the difficulty:

“I want to be a Grand Slam champion one day and just get back to the drawing board and keep working.”

He also gave a more personal account of what would happen next:

“I just fell in love with the work. I’m going to feel sorry for myself the next couple of days, but after that, I can start working again and get my ass to Turin. I want to be there.”

What I like here is how he acknowledges his disappointment and includes it within a continuing plan. He expects to feel it, he knows he has to go through it, and he can also picture himself working again.

Qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin gives him a target. Returning to training gives him something to do. In Outcome terms, that distinction is useful: the ambition provides a Towards direction, while the next action makes progress possible.

We each recover at our own pace, but we can still decide how we intend to begin again. That might mean arranging a review, asking for feedback or putting the next practice session in the diary.

Across these interviews, there are several ways to practise mental strength. Alcaraz recognises Capability within defeat. Rybakina describes daily adaptation. Sabalenka makes a specific assessment while disappointed. Shelton identifies his job, Zverev keeps his own reference point, and Tiafoe describes a return to purposeful work.

Think of a setback you are dealing with now and listen to the way you describe it. The Elevate Formula gives you three useful things to examine: how much of your life the difficulty affects, how long you expect it to last, and what you believe it says about you.

Then get specific. Identify what happened, recognise the strengths you can use, and choose an Outcome for your next attempt. That gives you something to practise while the disappointment is still real.

Sources

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