If you have not heard yet about the 15 year-old tennis player, Cici Bellis, you have now. Now known as one of the youngest players to win a US Open tennis match, she has definitely made a huge stride in her tennis career. Bellis, a California native, is the prime example of when hard work pays off.
In an interview, Bellis, notes “I mean, that’s what I’ve wanted to be since I was a little kid. I think that definitely makes me want to work really hard and try to become that.” Even at such a young age, she knew this was a goal and a passion she wanted to stick with moving forward.
After stunning the crowd in the first round, expectations were heightened pending round 2. However, she failed to make it past the second round being defeated by Zaria Diyas. Despite her loss in the second round, her most inspiring asset is her perseverance. Bellis has shown us all how important it is to find inspiration within ourselves and continue through despite setbacks.
With Bellis as an example it’s important for us, as women, to always continue through, trust yourself, and use these setbacks as a learning experience.
When it comes to perseverance, it’s important to find that strength within ourselves. In those tough moments, it’s important to take the time to re-center ourselves, take a deep breath, and remember what we are here to 
accomplish. Whether it be something as simple as excelling in a college course, or as complex as finding a new career path, we must take the time to re-focus in order to stay focused.
Secondly, it’s important to trust yourself. These goals are no one else’s but your own. In the case of Bellis, she was up against the top women in the world and even though she might be young, that doesn’t mean she lacks drive or ambition. She knows who she was up against, but she also know what she brings to the table of competition.
Lastly, each experience is a lesson learned. Bellis fought hard and maybe not hard enough to win, but now she knows what’s to come and how to improve herself. Whether it’s more training hours, studying longer, making more valuable connections, failure is just a trial run for success.
So, take Bellis’s actions of perseverance, trust, and learning attitude as a reminder of what good can come when you combine the three. Through that mindset, she was able to accomplish much more than any fifteen year-old in the past two decades. Continue to push forward, know yourself first, and most of all, learn from your mistakes.