Novak Djokovic is a Master of his Physiology
AUGUST 27, 2021
In your article titled “Grand Slam or Not, Novak Djokovic Knows His Role” (New York Times, August 26, 2021, Cindy Shmerler) you did a wonderful job describing the light and dark sides of Djokovic. However, you failed to mention the real reason behind his inability to behave in ways that meet the collective standard we hold our champions to. It’s easy to evaluate the behaviors and reactions of champions, especially those on the biggest stages during the decisive moments. Everything a champion does is watched, replayed and picked apart by all of us as if their behaviors are intentional. As if their reactions are planned. As if their emotions are controllable. As if they aren’t human. Every human, you, me and Djokovic included, will attack, defend or run at the first signs of danger. And when that strategy doesn’t work, or when we feel overwhelmed by threat, we will retreat, hide, dissociate, shut down or even collapse. These aren’t conscious decisions. These are reflexive, adaptive responses made by our autonomic nervous system. When we understand this, we can see behaviors for what they really are - emergent reactions from a body that either feels safe, in danger, or overwhelmed by threat.
Tennis, like all sports, is a metaphor for what it’s like to be human. In a single match, as in daily life, all of us, including champions like Djokovic, can reflexively shift through the entire sequence of bodily responses (physiological states) as we encounter safe, dangerous and life threatening environments, situations and relationships. The truth is, Novak is more successful on the court than both Federer and Nadal because he doesn’t hide his humanness. He doesn’t try to control all of his emotions, behaviors and reactions. He recognizes his bodily feelings. He respects his changing emotions. He acknowledges his reactive behaviors. And most of the time, not always, he manages his feelings, reactions and emotions, and he regulates what’s going on inside his own body in ways we’ve not seen before on the tennis court. Physiologically speaking, Djokovic manages the many attributes of his body such as his breathing, facial expressions, eye gaze, postures, vocalizations, movements, feelings and gestures to optimize his performance when everyone else folds under the pressure of the moment. He does this successfully, better than his opponents, most of the time.
When you look at Djokovic through this neurophysiological lens, you see that he is a model of what it means to be human. When you look at how Djokovic manages his emotions and the external pressures coming at him, you see that he is a master of his physiology. Not always, but most of the time. More than any other player, he expresses his emotional state vividly through his eyes, facial expressions, gestures, postures, vocalizations and body movements. He doesn’t try to hide what’s going on inside of him. Instead, he deliberately and skillfully expresses, and releases, his emotions, tensions and fears, so that he can shift his bodily state back into what I call the Play Zone - a hybrid state where the body feels safe and relaxed while highly engaged and energized. This is the body/mind state supporting optimal performance, being in the zone, and playing freely with confidence, creativity and belief. Djokovic knows how to enter this state better than anyone in the professional game of tennis. And he does it “on demand”.
Patrick Semansky, AP Photo
However, he is human. And he “loses control”, breaks down, and behaves in ways that many of us, including me, are quick to label as bad or wrong. Sometimes, he underestimates everything he’s up against. Sometimes, he’s simply too fatigued, exhausted and overwhelmed to manage all the challenges he’s battling. Sometimes, like all of us, he gets flooded by emotions, spins out of control inside his own mind, and loses sight of what’s happening around and within his own body. Sometimes, like all of us, he reflexively shifts, without awareness, through the predictable hierarchy of bodily states - from angry, to anxious, to confused, to overwhelmed, to helpless, to hopeless, to giving up. To criticize his inability to control his emotions and reactions, both on and off the court, like I’ve also done for many years, is more an expression of our own misunderstanding of what it's really like to be a human being. Especially a professional athlete at the top of their game, endlessly analyzed, and under the relentless pressures of holding it all together. It is our own evaluation of his behavior that continues to fuel the culture that holds all of us back from becoming the kind, compassionate and benevolent humans we strive to be. Athletes are not machines. It’s time to treat our champions, as the heroes, and the humans, that they really are. Like you, they are courageous, curious, confident and creative when they feel safe and comfortable. Like you, they get angry, aggressive, anxious and afraid when they sense danger and threat. Like you, they feel lonely, confused, hopeless and helpless when they are overwhelmed by chaos, risk and uncertainty. If we are to evolve individually and grow together collectively, we need to stop analyzing, judging and criticizing everything “they” say and do. “They” need safety. We all need safety. Safety in the environments around us. Safety in our relationships with others. Safety in our own bodies.
Ivo Cimino, Tennis World
Although this might sound soft, this is actually hard science based on a neurophysiological framework developed by Stephen W. Porges Ph.D to optimize resilience and performance. Beneath the emotions, behaviors and reactions is a physiology - a body that feels safe, in danger or overwhelmed by threat. A body stuck in defense results in a player that under performs when it really counts, easily overreacts, tightens up, gives up too quickly, and no longer likes the game. In other words, the fear of losing takes over and the player fights, runs or hides until the body can’t fight, run or hide any longer. There is a solution - to recognize and regulate physiological state “on demand” for optimal performance in any situation, on AND off the court.
Sincerely,
Michael Allison
Enter Your Play Zone
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