Konta Never Gives Up

By NAPARAZZI - JOHANNA KONTA, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38062899

One player who will be looking forward to the French Open this year more than ever before is the 2019 semi-finalist Johanna 'Jo' Konta. The powerful, athletic British right-hander had never won a main draw match at Roland Garros prior to 2019, but she has always believed in herself, even when few others did.

Time and again, Konta has had to fight to progress her career. As a junior in Australia, she had her funding withdrawn. This eventually led her Hungarian parents to move her to Sutton Tennis Academy in England, where they struggled to pay the fees. The LTA came to her rescue with an offer of funding, but Jo tended to get too tense on court, and made little progress for the next couple of years.

At the end of 2014 her funding was slashed, and at the age of 23 she was well outside the top 100. Many would have given up, but Jo moved to Spain, and began working with mental coach Juan Coto. She learned to focus on 'the process' rather than the outcome, and success finally started to come.

By Tatiana from Moscow, Russia - Johanna Konta, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38325334

Tragedy struck when Coto committed suicide in late 2016, but Jo battled on, emphasising that he was: 'still very much a part of everything that I do'. She has reached semi-finals at three of the grand slams, and been ranked in the top 10, although the British press still expect more.

By Carine06 from UK - Johanna KontaUploaded by Flickrworker, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31254617

Konta demonstrates better than anyone that staying focused on your goals can help you to overcome almost any setback.

She has fought her way through debt, repeated rejection, and the death of the man who changed her career, all while dealing with a hostile press. Jo deserves every bit of success she achieves, and she knows Juan Coto would be proud of her.