LONDON (AP) 鈥 When Naomi Osaka opened up about her anxiety and depression at the 2021 French Open, it sparked a conversation in sports 鈥 and society at large 鈥 about mental health and the importance of addressing such issues.
In the time since, more and more players have spoken about the topic and seeking help, and whatever taboos there were seem to have faded. Still, the way discussed his state of mind after a first-round exit at this week revived the conversation.
鈥淚 feel very alone out there at times. I struggle mentally. ... I鈥檓 trying to find ways to kind of get out of this hole. I keep kind of finding myself back in it in a way,鈥 said Zverev, who was the runner-up at the Australian Open in January but then went through a rough stretch of results this season when he had a chance to overtake Jannik Sinner at No. 1 in the rankings.
Alexander Zverev says at Wimbledon he feels 鈥榪uite alone in life鈥
鈥淚 feel, generally speaking, quite alone in life at the moment, which is a feeling that is not very nice," Zverev said. "It鈥檚 not a feeling on a tennis court, it鈥檚 just a life feeling in general.鈥
Players at the All England Club were asked Wednesday about Zverev's words.
They could empathize, some said.
Others offered advice.
Amanda Anisimova was a French Open semifinalist as a teen in 2019, then announced two years ago she was taking time off . She's been back for a while now and reached the third round at Wimbledon with a victory Wednesday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely tricky. Each and every one of us goes through something at some point in our lives. We have our bouts of negative times. It honestly takes some self-reflecting, figuring out what鈥檚 going wrong or how can I create a lifestyle that I enjoy. I feel like there are so many factors. For me, personally, it was finding people that I could confide in and I trusted. People that I could talk to," Anisimova said.
鈥淲hat Alex said about feeling lonely ... a lot of people struggle with being lonely, especially on the pro circuit,鈥 she said, adding that taking a break from tour life "really helped me and I'm happy I did that, because I came back with a new perspective, felt refreshed, and I feel like I learned a lot about myself.鈥
Wimbledon athletes talk about turning to therapy for help
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, who owns three major trophies, said that she worked with a therapist for five years.
鈥淚t's really important to talk openly about whatever you鈥檙e dealing with. ... It鈥檚 really important to be open and to talk about what are you experiencing, because if you鈥檙e going to keep it inside, it鈥檚 just going to destroy you. I think that鈥檚 kind of like something happening to him,鈥 Sabalenka said. 鈥淚 think (Zverev) just needs to open up to whoever is close to him.鈥
At the Australian Open, title winner addressed and the ways in which it both allowed her to be happier, in general, and more successful at tennis 鈥 a sport in which losses are frequent and expectations can be a burden.
On-court losses in tennis can affect off-court identities
鈥淥ur identity becomes very wrapped up in being a tennis player. That鈥檚 great, but when you have the tough kind of weeks, months, years on tour, that can really take a toll on how you think about yourself as a person,鈥 Keys, a 30-year-old American, said Wednesday.
鈥淪o being able to kind of dive into that and figure out how to separate the two and know that you鈥檙e not just a tennis player, you're a full person that has all of these other really great attributes and other interests and just different things in your life.鈥
When a reporter asked the No. 3-seeded Zverev after his loss to unseeded Arthur Rinderknech on Tuesday whether he might consider trying therapy, the 28-year-old German replied: 鈥淔or the first time in my life, I鈥檒l probably need it.鈥
This is how he described his current mindset: 鈥淚鈥檝e never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy, just lacking joy in everything that I do. It鈥檚 not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis, as well.鈥
Andrey Rublev, a 10-time Slam quarterfinalist from Russia who is seeded 14th at Wimbledon, said after his win Wednesday that life on tour, in and of itself, is not the problem for someone like Zverev.
鈥淭ennis is just the trigger point,鈥 Rublev said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something inside of you that you need to face.鈥
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