Issue 03: The Person Across the Net

What Tennis Teaches Us

One thing I like about tennis is how clearly it defines the competition.

For a couple of hours, you are trying very hard to beat the person across the net. Then the match ends. You walk toward that same person, shake hands, and leave the court.

I've been noticing a simpler version of this watching my daughters play. They want to win their games — badly, while they're playing. But win or lose, five minutes later they mostly just want to be with their friends.

The result doesn't have to change the relationship. Maybe that's something worth holding onto as the stakes in life get bigger.

An Idea Worth Borrowing

“It is really rare, to have a No. 1 and No. 2 player or athlete in any sport become really, really close. But I think we saw each other as people, with compassion and empathy...”
— Chris Evert, during a joint appearance with Martina Navratilova on Good Morning America, June 11, 2026.

Outside tennis, someone is often on the other side of something we want. A colleague gets the opportunity. Someone disagrees with us. Another person gets picked, promoted, chosen or recognized.

It's easy to make the person the opponent, rather than the particular thing we're competing over. Evert and Navratilova spent fifteen years competing for the same titles, rankings and place in tennis history. They never confused the rivalry with the person.

What Caught My Eye

If you followed the Billie Jean King Cup, you saw a formidable Czech team win its first title since 2018.

But one detail stayed with me.

In July, Linda Noskova and Karolina Muchova had played each other in the Wimbledon final. Noskova won. During the trophy ceremony, Muchova opened by jokingly calling Noskova her “ex-friend” — then told her, 21 years old and playing her first Grand Slam final, that the way she'd handled the pressure of that day was unbelievable.

Less than three months later, they were on the same team, and as their country's No. 1 and No. 2, each turned in a series of strong performances to become champions.

In July, Noskova was the person standing between Muchova and something she desperately wanted. By September, they had something else to win together.

See you next Monday.
— Simona