Little disappointed about my performance today 😞

I really wanted to do well and my lead-up tournament went so well, so I was super hopeful and excited to get on court. However, I didn’t feel like I had enough time after Rabat to properly recover and prepare for the conditions, and I think that showed today.

It’s difficult when you only have two days and need to choose between recovery and rest, while also wanting to spend as much time on court as possible to get acclimatised. I probably overdid it and leaned more towards hitting and adapting to the conditions, but that affected my freshness, and today my body and mind just didn’t fully join me in the match.

I felt flat, and it was very difficult to focus and react at the speed I expect from myself. Credit to my opponent as well — she didn’t give me much rhythm and made it physical from the very first point.

In moments like this, it’s easy to get down on myself and let it affect me long term because, as a tennis player, a Grand Slam is always where you want to show your best level and performance.

But I won’t let this match define me because today I also woke up to a new career-high ranking of 59, and that is something that reflects where I am and how much improvement I’ve made over the last few months. I’m proud of that. ❤️

Professional sport is a rollercoaster, and bad matches will happen, but the most important thing is how you respond, get back up, and keep working.

So that’s exactly what I’ll do — keep looking for those little 1% improvements that will make me better. 💪