"I didn't really care if I had a coach that much, me personally, because I was brought up to think for myself"

The statement asserts a philosophy of self-reliance: athletic mastery grows from an internal locus of control rather than constant external direction. By emphasizing “me personally,” it marks a choice rather than a universal rule, and “brought up to think for myself” links that choice to formative values, curiosity, skepticism, and the habit of independent judgment. For a tennis player, whose craft requires solving problems in real time without timeouts, that mindset is not just empowering; it is practical.

Coaches can be valuable, but overreliance can dull creativity and delay decisions. Tennis demands on-the-spot diagnosis: What patterns are emerging? Which serves set up the next shot? How can tempo, height, or spin disrupt the opponent’s rhythm? Cultivating an inner coach, clear self-talk, honest self-assessment, tactical experimentation, sharpens those skills. It fosters accountability: if the player owns the plan, the player also owns the outcome, which can build confidence and resilience under pressure.

Independence here does not reject learning; it reframes it. Wisdom can come from mentors, film study, or peers, but the final filter is one’s own judgment. Rather than a hierarchy where the coach is unquestioned authority and the athlete is compliant, the ideal becomes partnership: input is sought, tested, and either integrated or discarded based on what works in the arena.

The sentiment also resonates with a broader social stance. Billie Jean King’s career intertwined performance with advocacy, building institutions, challenging gatekeepers, demanding parity. Thinking for oneself was both a competitive method and a political posture, a refusal to outsource agency to paternal structures.

There is room for nuance: some athletes thrive with more structure, and a great coach can accelerate growth. The challenge is to prevent guidance from becoming dependence. The deeper invitation is to cultivate an internal compass so strong that any external help is additive, not defining, so that when the match tightens, the decisive voice is one’s own.