Venus Williams lost her first round match against Emiliana Arango at the Cincinnati Open.

14 Wild Cards. 14 losses.

And people are getting pissed off.

Many observers are saying that it’s time for Venus to retire and the same claims keep coming back:

-She’s too old and cannot compete;

-She’s stealing wild cards away from younger and more promising players

-It’s tarnishing her legacy.

And if we look at her 2026 0-14 record, it’s hard to argue against those arguments.

But is there more to the story?

Is Venus’ willingness to keep playing is sad?

Or is it an invitation for us to learn to push the threshold of our tolerance to “losing/ failing in the public eye”?

In this new episode of the Tennis Lounge podcast, I took a deeper look at Venus’s season and what lessons we can learn from it.

-Is Venus really no longer capable to compete against players in the top 100?

-What is the reason behind the Wild Cards she's receiving and why the might keep coming?

-What Venus Williams' willingness to keep playing is revealing about our relationship with loss/failure?

Follow for more mental strategies and BTS about building a tennis career and you can also find the podcast on Instagram @tennisloungepodcast and Facebook!

Check out some of our previous episodes:

S3 Ep 5: Novak Djokovic is the GOAT...at 'Shark Empathy': The 4 Pillars of his Mental Strength

S3 Ep1: Serena Williams: The Real Reason(s) Why She's Coming Back at Wimbledon