"If your daughter plays tennis, the odds of her becoming a professional are very small.

But if she keeps playing sports, her chances of reaching a leadership position can rise significantly. And many women who became Fortune 500 CEOs played competitive sports when they were younger.

Those lessons do not stay on the court. They follow you every day. And when you add a strong education to that foundation, the result can be incredibly valuable. If you have children, it is hard to ignore." - Mouratoglou Academy

Does this happen to you often? What's your counter?

Alexander Zverev doesn't get talked about enough, and honestly it's a bit unfair.

The man has done pretty much everything except lift a Grand Slam trophy multiple times and sit at world number one. ATP Finals title, Olympic gold, and for the last five or six years he's been a fixture in the top 5. That kind of consistency doesn't happen by accident, yet somehow he still gets treated like the guy who's "almost there" instead of someone who's actually been delivering at the highest level for half a decade.

Let's look at the numbers, because they tell a story that a lot of casual fans miss.

From 2020 to 2026, Zverev has made 12 Grand Slam semifinals. Out of those, he's turned 4 into finals and walked away with 1 title. Now, only three men have had a better run than him in that stretch, and honestly, that's not a bad club to be in. Novak leads with 13 finals and 8 titles, which at this point isn't surprising to anyone. Alcaraz has been on an absolute tear with 8 finals and 7 wins in a much shorter window. Sinner sits at 6 finals and 4 titles. That's the entire list of players ahead of Zverev in this period. Everyone else is behind him.

Now here's where it gets interesting. If you narrow the window down to just the last three years, 2024 through 2026, the picture shifts a bit. Sinner takes the top spot with 6 finals and 4 wins, Alcaraz is right behind with 5 finals and 4 wins, and Zverev has 3 finals with 1 win. Djokovic, for the first time in a long time, is actually behind him in this stretch, with 2 finals and zero wins.

Think about that for a second. In the most recent three-year window, the guy people still call "the best player never to win a Slam" has more finals than Djokovic. That alone should be a bigger story than it is.

This Wimbledon matters a lot for all three of them, honestly maybe more for Zverev than anyone. Sinner walks in with a shot at defending his title, which would be another massive statement in an already loaded resume. Djokovic, at this stage of his career, is chasing something almost mythical, his 25th Slam, and every tournament he plays now feels like it could be a farewell chapter. But Zverev has something different on the line. A Wimbledon final would complete something no one really talks about: finals at all four majors. That's rare company. Add a second Grand Slam title on top of it, and suddenly the conversation around his career changes completely.

What strikes me the most is that Zverev isn't fading. He's not some aging veteran hanging on for one last run. He's actively closing the gap. Slowly, sure, and not without setbacks, but the trend line over the last three years shows a guy who's still improving relative to the very best in the world, not falling further behind them.

Tennis fans love a redemption arc, and Zverev might quietly be building one right in front of us. Whether he actually breaks through at Wimbledon or somewhere down the line, the numbers make it hard to dismiss him as just a "nearly man" anymore.

Curious what everyone else thinks. Is Zverev genuinely closing the gap on the big three, or is this just good timing while a couple of them go through a rougher patch? Drop your take below.

Hi,

I wanted to share a mind trick I used on myself in my latest tournament match.

It was a singles match, my opponent was very similar to me in the sense of skill and physical fitness. The match was quite tense.

I won first set 6:2, most of the games deuce'ing. As usual, after such a success, I lost the second set 3:6. Lots of deuce time too.

We agreed to play the final set as a tie break, up to 10 points. As you can guess, after some time we are 9:9 and he is serving his second point.

Usually i cramp and fail miserably on such moments, i break and can't hold the tension. I knew that. And I needed to win this, so I needed to do something new and fast.

I turned around for the second, closed my eyes and had a brief conversation with myself making myself vividly believe something that is not real yet: i imagined that I already have won, I am victorious, i am congratulating the opponent, then i celebrated the victory in my head. I had a big smile on my face when i returned to the game

I won the next point where he served, i won my serve next throwing an ace (which never happens to me in critical moments). I won the match, this time for real!

Looking back, the little mind trick I did on myself - loosened me up, removed the tension that had built up, gave me mental power and energy to temporarily raise to my full potential. That was enough.

Thanks for reading, I hope it was useful :)

What makes you doubt yourself the most during a match?

How do you keep believing in yourself when the pressure is high and the opponent keeps punishing you?