Even if you're not a tennis fan, you had to be impressed by the play of teenagers at the US Open.
Emma Raducanu and
Leylah Fernandez met in the women's final, and the duo of
Coco Gauff and
Caty McNally (aka McCoco) advanced to the doubles final. They competed with a maturity and tenacity that belies their age. One thing that all four players have in common is their development of the whole person that's a result of grounded families. Here are some of the traits they share:
They were multi-sport athletes. Raducanu drove go-karts and competed in motocross in addition to playing tennis. Fernandez grew up competing in football, volleyball, and track, in addition to tennis. Gauff tried basketball, track, dance, gymnastics, cheerleading, and soccer before settling on tennis. McNally played basketball through middle school.
They are students, on and off the court. While many professional tennis players drop out of school at an early age, these four have maintained their academic pursuits. Raducanu recently passed her exams for the British system, and both Fernandez (who also speaks three languages) and McNally take university classes online. They also study the best athletes in the world (and not just tennis players), to see what they can learn from their mindset and mentality.
They're competitive. That might seem obvious for world-class tennis players, but whether it's a board game, a video game, a dance-off, or on the court, they're driven to win and hate to lose.
Keep an eye on these four. They seem to be positioned for ongoing success, and they're great models for youth athletes.
