TENNIS AND DEPRESSION
By Michael Mewshaw
Like millions of tennis fans and hundreds of journalists now credentialed at Roland Garros, I was distressed by Naomi Osaka’s recent withdrawal from the tournament. It was all the more saddening to hear that the reason for her withdrawal was not simply her dislike of press conferences, but the fact that encounters with journalists provoke anxiety and depression. Having spent my entire childhood in the company of a bi-polar mother, I feel I know firsthand about depression and its serious consequences for the sufferer and for those close to them. While this doesn’t qualify me as a diagnostician, I think it does give me some insight, and along with my forty years as a tennis writer, permits me to make a few observations.
The professional tennis tour is a perfect petri dish of psychological problems. Numerous tennis coaches and tennis psychologists have confirmed this to me. In addition to the normal stresses of high-level competition, the circuit is populated by young people, many of whom feel pressure to perform at a maximum level, not just to rise in the rankings, but to support their entourages and families. There’s a rampant expectation that happiness lies in winning and that a top ten ranking will resolve all personal problems.
Obviously that’s not the case and the history of the game has been rife with champions who’ve suffered emotional troubles. In some cases they completely flamed out, ending their careers. Bjorn Borg would be the most famous example if tennis journalists didn’t so often euphemize his situation and explain away his retirement at age 26, interpreting his overdose of sleeping pills as an accident rather than a suicide attempt and a cry for help.
Currently on tour any number of players have publicly spoken about their struggles, especially during the COVID epidemic. Benoit Paire has for months sounded in his press conferences like a patient on a couch. He attributes his poor results to the isolation and extra stress prompted by COVID regulations. As he has pointed out, it’s no fun – in fact it’s mentally taxing and disruptive – to play in abandoned stadiums, then return to a sterile interchangeable hotel in a strange city. While many have dismissed Paire’s complaints as more evidence of his flaky personality, he sounds not unlike the previously robust Austrian Dominic Thiem who admits that after winning the 2020 US Open he has found it emotionally difficult to regain his focus and his motivation. If he’s not suffering depression, he’s certainly showing some of the symptoms of the condition.
Now that Naomi Osaka has candidly shared her condition with the public, she certainly deserves support and care. The question is whether she’ll receive anything more than token lip-service from tennis authorities. The tour is an engine for Darwinian competition; it’s a billion-dollar business, not a therapeutic environment. The responsibility will fall instead to Osaka’s family and perhaps her agent and coaches to arrange for her to get help. Talk therapy and medication are normally prescribed for patients with disabilities that prevent them from performing at a level equal to their talents and the demands of their profession. If press conferences are indeed what triggers Osaka’s depression, then perhaps cognitive behavioral therapy will prove to be the solution. Such has been the case with golfers, field goal kickers and previous tennis players who’ve come down with a case of the yips. Of course Osaka’s case may be more serious and complicated. One sure way for her to find out is to speak as candidly to a therapist as she has to the public. She’s a brave young woman, sensitive and likeable, and one can only hope that she’ll get the help that she needs. – Michael Mewshaw is the author of 22 books, among them AD IN AD OUT, a collection of his tennis articles, now available as an e-book.
FEDERER SPEAKS OUT ON MENTAL WELLNESS: In Roger Federer’s press conference, Inside Tennis noted that the tour can be a rugged, Darwinian place where there are lots of tough losses and a lot of money is at stake. Careers often are in the balance. We shared with Roger that for many years he has seemed to be in a happy place. Then we asked him how, in terms of mental wellness, what advice he would give to younger players and what the tour can do in these areas.
Roger replied, “It’s a good question. It depends a little bit how old you are. Obviously, like you said, this is about the younger players. Clearly, it’s very important who you surround yourself with.
“For me, having that older brother early on, having somewhat of a close relationship with my parents, but they [also] gave me the distance and freedom and that was important.
“I mean, how do you stay happy on the road? Because you’re waiting a lot…What else is [really] going on? You lose some, and then you train. You lose again, you train again. You’re supposed to be happy, upbeat and living the dream, which it is. But losing ain’t fun.
“So you’ve got to find a way to still take joy out of practice or being at a new place or just staying home for a while, [that] I think is okay. The only problem is that sometimes the way things are set up you feel [down] – this is where I think the team comes in big – everybody else is playing and you’re sitting out and you’re practicing. You feel you’re missing out. That fear can drive you. This is why I’m thankful I didn’t chase, I didn’t just go and play all the time. I always looked at the big picture: once you feel like you’re gonna make it on tour or you’re gonna have a certain level…you are not in stress and you don’t let yourself get lured in by all the stuff that’s going on and what people are saying. You follow your path.
“But definitely [it] takes some getting used to. Obviously it’s helpful when you have mentors. And the older generation like us are welcoming you and making you feel like you can find your groove quickly…[so] you don’t feel like the outsider for too long. You want to feel welcomed. Obviously the tour can help with legends [helping] in some ways.
“The women’s tour does very well [in that way.] I guess the men’s [tour] would be open to take a second and chat to everybody, but we don’t have an official role for former top guys, which I think is a bit unfortunate because a lot of them would be willing to help. The tour, the ITF and Grand Slams should clearly also take its responsibility…There are enough people that should be and can be helpful.”
THE EYES HAVE IT: The Tennis Channel noted that when watching Sloane Stephens,“You can see it in her eyes how engaged she is in a match. When she’s locked in you can see it, you can feel it. She has played a lot of matches this year when you’re not really seeing that intensity that we saw that summer of 2017.” Today Sloane, No. 59, took down No. 9 seed Karolina Pliskova. She’ll next play No. 18 seed Karolina Muchova.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: After noting that
Richard Gasquet hadn’t won any of his 16 matches against Rafa, Robbie Koenig noted, “It’s like the rivalry a hammer has with a nail.”
LIFE IN FEDERER’S WORLD IS BACK TO NORMAL: We used to hear this rather boring comment all the time. “Roger Federer has won his early matches, back-to-back.” But it’s been a while since that’s been said. The last time he won consecutive early-round matches was over 18 months ago. Today the No. 8 player in the world played No. 47, Marin Cilic. The former US Open champ had only won once against Roger in their ten meetings. Federer again seemed to be playing with ease, as he unleashed beautiful down-the-line backhands and a jaw-dropping return of serve dropshot that the Tennis Channel said “a good snooker player would be proud of.”
After Cilic effectively worked the ref, Emmanuel Joseph, Federer was given a warning for not being ready to return Cilic’s serve even though there were 13 seconds left on the courtside clock. Federer and fans alike were stunned by the call. There was a 3-minute debate in French and Cilic soon rallied to take the second set and level the match at 2-6, 6-2. Commentator Paul Annacone, who was once Federer’s coach, didn’t exactly panic: “I tend to try and not bet against great players, particularly if they hang around for long periods of time.” In another odd development, Roger gave Cilic a point on his serve. Even though both the umpire and Hawk-Eye said the Croatian’s serve was actually out, Roger felt it was in and so he conceded the point. We know one thing: Roger fellow is a good sport. And another thing we know is that after Roger’s 6-2, 2-6 7-6, 6-2 win, all of tennis is hoping there’ll be a Federer-Djokovic face-off in a couple of rounds when the quarter finals are played.
MOM POWER: There are three mothers in the third quarter of the French Open draw: Serena, Victoria Azarenka and Elena Visnina.
BRADY’S BALLING: Mats Wilander had a wish. The seven-time Slam winner and Eurosport broadcaster told IT, “I hope Jennefier Brady looks in the mirror and says, ‘Clay courts, that’s your thing!’ That forehand on clay is a completely different problem for her opponents.” Just ask Fiona Ferro, who was up a break in the final set of their second-round match today. But Brady stormed back and prevailed. She’ll next face Coco Gauff, in a delicious all-American battle between two Floridians who provide us with many thrills.
JUST WONDERING: With Osaka and Barty’s withdrawals from the French Open, we wonder, ‘Have the top two seeds ever before left a Slam without actually being beaten on court in a completed match?’
BARTY IN PLURAL FORM: Have you ever noticed how the team-oriented Ash Barty always uses plural pronouns to refer to herself? She’ll say things like this: “Over the weekend we had a bit of a flare-up through my left hip…But, no, I think we were able to fight through, able to give ourselves a chance to play again the next round. We were able to do that today…We have tough days, like everyone does…We’re certainly hanging in there at the moment. We’re going well. We’re all good. We’re able to do what we love and compete and fight and, you know, that’s why we’re here. We’re here to enjoy that part of tennis. Certainly no complaints from our end.”
SCANLAN PASSES: Former touring pro Bill Scanlan, who reached No. 9 in his career and famously beat John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, passed away yesterday at age 64.
LEST WE FORGET: Coco Gauff may have lost yesterday with her doubles partner Venus Williams, but she’s the only WTA player we know of who partnered with Venus on tour, other than Serena.
