Always delightful to read one top athlete's appreciation for and understanding of athletes from an entirely different sport. We need more this in the musings of all athletes. As both a lifelong skier and tennis player, I'm often struck by both the complete similarities in the mind set and the use of my body, as well as the total and utter dissimarities in the two sports, which makes both sports more enjoyable and humbling. Both sports are foundationally about fear as the deepest motivator: in tennis, you fear failing at form, ability, and victory essentially alone on an open space for all to see, where in skiing you fear pain and paralysis from physical injury or death. Both fears force you to have laser focus, mental "be here now", and iron will. Thanks for the fab stuff, Andrea.
Physician here (as well as avid skier/tennis player).
Did Lindsey have the right to compete with a torn ACL? Well, yes, she earned that right.
But, tho competing was a romantic gesture, the results speak for themselves. Competing in a race (as opposed to a practice run) where the margins are are in hundredths of seconds, and where the competitors are going 80 mph and pulling several G’s in turns, you are definitely putting yourself at risk by “going for it”on a leg that simply can’t respond normally.
And I’d definitely take issue with the statement that her torn ACL had nothing to do with her crash, which is a very disingenuous comment ! The gate that she hit had been there all week, on all the training runs - it wasn’t some surprise. The question is - Why did she hit it? She hit it because when she came over the roll on that traverse, which is always a tricky part of that course, she was not in control and was thrown higher on the line than she intended - and it’s likely that she would have been able to maintain control if she had had two normally functioning legs on that part of the course.
Anyway - I applaud her courage - but even with modern medicine, she has incurred an injury that may give her some long-term disability.
However, for Lindsey, the pain of not competing might be greater than any future pain she might have in her leg. So ultimately, it’s her call and you have to respect it
Hockey shoutout!! As a former hockey player, I really don't want to mansplain the sport to a pro athlete like yourself... but I guess I'm about to anyway (sorry). I think the trick is to follow the players, who don't have the puck! The real beauty of the game, the elegant stuff, happens in the space around whoever has the puck. The most tennis'y thing happening on ice is the hand-eye coordination of the players deflecting that puck into the net: https://youtu.be/UiHVRkE7Zz0 - it's a beautiful thing!! Plus, hockey players (and fans like me) LOVE beer, so it's really a great sport ... on ice!
I don't know where to come down (no pun intended but it's there) on the Downhill and Super G events. I am generally not in favor of sports where there is some crazy risk of serious injury, since there are so many sports where there is only a minor risk of a minor injury. This is not the first time Lindsey Vonn broke a leg, I believe, and her career injury list is enough to make someone wonder whether modern Downhill, with 2026 speeds, should still exist in its current form.
By comparison, while the whole ski jumping thing looks crazy dangerous, serious injuries are rare compared to Downhill.
Anyway, as to Vonn, I think if you just look at the drone footage following the skiers, and you contemplate how fast 70MPH on skis is, it may be that like 90% of the risk is just doing it at all, with only 10% of the risk doing it while not 100% fit.
Regardless, I marvel at the nerves and skill required.
What I wonder about is the extent to which athletes recognize what their functional limitations or the effect on their future quality of life will be. I don't think they're naive, but how much is the present prioritized? A complex ?spiral tibial fracture will likely have major impact like long term swelling, stiffness at the ankle and knee, limited weight bearing tolerance, restrictions for mobility etc. While Lindsay's case is more extreme, I would have the same question for folks like Andy or Rafa or Pete or Andre or so many others (even dear Novak whose approach has maybe been more mindful).
Andrea - what would you say about the general approach from your vantage point? Do GOATs care about the eventual consequences in a way that appreciable in the present or is their present so consumed with the 'next achievement' that everything else takes a backseat (like a deteriorating body)?
In case you cared (not trying to be a d*ck): tibial fracture vs. fracture of the tibia; ACL connects the tibia to the femur and together (with the patella) they comprise the knee joint
Try writing letters in ink in the Tasman on a proper cruise ship - and then go see the ships they took in the museum — I am fairly certain you will change your mind about that being romantic 😂
Speaking of GOAT‘S: what happened to the GOAT of tennis podcasts: the Rennae Stubbs Tennis podcast. Are you two fighting? Will it return?
Always delightful to read one top athlete's appreciation for and understanding of athletes from an entirely different sport. We need more this in the musings of all athletes. As both a lifelong skier and tennis player, I'm often struck by both the complete similarities in the mind set and the use of my body, as well as the total and utter dissimarities in the two sports, which makes both sports more enjoyable and humbling. Both sports are foundationally about fear as the deepest motivator: in tennis, you fear failing at form, ability, and victory essentially alone on an open space for all to see, where in skiing you fear pain and paralysis from physical injury or death. Both fears force you to have laser focus, mental "be here now", and iron will. Thanks for the fab stuff, Andrea.
Physician here (as well as avid skier/tennis player).
Did Lindsey have the right to compete with a torn ACL? Well, yes, she earned that right.
But, tho competing was a romantic gesture, the results speak for themselves. Competing in a race (as opposed to a practice run) where the margins are are in hundredths of seconds, and where the competitors are going 80 mph and pulling several G’s in turns, you are definitely putting yourself at risk by “going for it”on a leg that simply can’t respond normally.
And I’d definitely take issue with the statement that her torn ACL had nothing to do with her crash, which is a very disingenuous comment ! The gate that she hit had been there all week, on all the training runs - it wasn’t some surprise. The question is - Why did she hit it? She hit it because when she came over the roll on that traverse, which is always a tricky part of that course, she was not in control and was thrown higher on the line than she intended - and it’s likely that she would have been able to maintain control if she had had two normally functioning legs on that part of the course.
Anyway - I applaud her courage - but even with modern medicine, she has incurred an injury that may give her some long-term disability.
However, for Lindsey, the pain of not competing might be greater than any future pain she might have in her leg. So ultimately, it’s her call and you have to respect it
Hockey shoutout!! As a former hockey player, I really don't want to mansplain the sport to a pro athlete like yourself... but I guess I'm about to anyway (sorry). I think the trick is to follow the players, who don't have the puck! The real beauty of the game, the elegant stuff, happens in the space around whoever has the puck. The most tennis'y thing happening on ice is the hand-eye coordination of the players deflecting that puck into the net: https://youtu.be/UiHVRkE7Zz0 - it's a beautiful thing!! Plus, hockey players (and fans like me) LOVE beer, so it's really a great sport ... on ice!
I don't know where to come down (no pun intended but it's there) on the Downhill and Super G events. I am generally not in favor of sports where there is some crazy risk of serious injury, since there are so many sports where there is only a minor risk of a minor injury. This is not the first time Lindsey Vonn broke a leg, I believe, and her career injury list is enough to make someone wonder whether modern Downhill, with 2026 speeds, should still exist in its current form.
By comparison, while the whole ski jumping thing looks crazy dangerous, serious injuries are rare compared to Downhill.
Anyway, as to Vonn, I think if you just look at the drone footage following the skiers, and you contemplate how fast 70MPH on skis is, it may be that like 90% of the risk is just doing it at all, with only 10% of the risk doing it while not 100% fit.
Regardless, I marvel at the nerves and skill required.
What I wonder about is the extent to which athletes recognize what their functional limitations or the effect on their future quality of life will be. I don't think they're naive, but how much is the present prioritized? A complex ?spiral tibial fracture will likely have major impact like long term swelling, stiffness at the ankle and knee, limited weight bearing tolerance, restrictions for mobility etc. While Lindsay's case is more extreme, I would have the same question for folks like Andy or Rafa or Pete or Andre or so many others (even dear Novak whose approach has maybe been more mindful).
Andrea - what would you say about the general approach from your vantage point? Do GOATs care about the eventual consequences in a way that appreciable in the present or is their present so consumed with the 'next achievement' that everything else takes a backseat (like a deteriorating body)?
In case you cared (not trying to be a d*ck): tibial fracture vs. fracture of the tibia; ACL connects the tibia to the femur and together (with the patella) they comprise the knee joint
It's time for your comeback. Dust off the racquets and let's go!
Try writing letters in ink in the Tasman on a proper cruise ship - and then go see the ships they took in the museum — I am fairly certain you will change your mind about that being romantic 😂
Speaking of GOAT‘S: what happened to the GOAT of tennis podcasts: the Rennae Stubbs Tennis podcast. Are you two fighting? Will it return?