From ‘numb' to ‘alone': Wimbledon stars expose tennis' emotional cost

Sydney Morning Herald

15 hours ago

It was part of a 16-minute post-match interview that effectively served as a confessional, during which he admitted he would not have been so frank in victory. He spoke similarly to fellow Australian Alex de Minaur, who revealed he was suffering from mental fatigue after his second-round defeat in Paris.
Losing was what enabled players to finally realise what was going wrong, Popyrin said.
'Making the second week of French Open for the first time; I didn't realise how much it takes out of, not only your physical, but mental capacity,' Popyrin said.
'I have to not see a tennis court or a tennis racquet for a little bit. After today's match, I felt numb. I didn't feel sad, I didn't feel happy – I just felt numb, and that's not a feeling I've ever had before.'
Like Popyrin, de Minaur said winning papered over the cracks of tennis players' struggles.
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They deal with being on the road for many months each year, away from loved ones, while trying to absorb self-doubts and the pressure of a 12-month revolving rankings system with dire consequences for not matching results from a year earlier.
Popyrin sits No.22 in the rankings but is 52nd in the single-season race.
It is an indication of where his ranking could be headed in the months ahead as he defends more than half his points, including his historic Masters 1000 title in Canada and a fourth-round showing at the US Open, where he cut down Novak Djokovic.
'I need to relax and not think about the points that are coming off ... and just completely and utterly disconnect from tennis,' Popyrin said. 'I know if I do that, I'll be able to play well again and make some results.'
De Minaur is workshopping a new approach with less focus on his ranking after he set and aggressively chased ambitious public goals in the past.
But as defeats pile up on a tour where most weeks end that way, so do the doubts, as Kasatkina highlighted. They hurt so much more when they come in a bunch.
Alexander Zverev: 'I feel very alone out there'
There is, perhaps, less sympathy for Germany's Alexander Zverev than many others, but his surprise exit on Tuesday – amid a record-breaking tournament of ineptitude for seeded players – prompted a Popyrin-like public admission.
The world No.3 reached this year's Australian Open final and won the Munich title in his home country, but there were spotty results in between for a player of his standing. Zverev mostly fobbed off anyone who dared question his form until his Wimbledon flop.
'I feel very alone out there at times. I struggle mentally,' Zverev said.
'I've been saying that since after the Australian Open. I'm trying to find ways to get out of this hole. I keep finding myself back in it, in a way. I feel, generally speaking, quite alone in life at the moment, which is a feeling that is not very nice.'
Zverev, a three-time grand-slam tournament finalist who has twice fought allegations of domestic abuse, acknowledged he is now at breaking point and may seek therapy. 'Maybe for the first time in my life I'll probably need it,' he said. 'I've been through a lot of difficulties. I've been through a lot of difficulties in the media. I've been through a lot of difficulties in life generally.'
Aryna Sabalenka: 'I had a therapist for five years'
World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka urged Zverev to seek professional help, reflecting on her own long-term use of counselling. 'I had a therapist for five years in my career,' she said after her win over Marie Bouzkova on Wednesday. 'I stopped I don't know, maybe in 2022. It's crazy to hear from someone like Alexander because he has surrounded himself with his family.
'It's really important to be open and to talk about what you're experiencing because if you're going to keep it inside, it's just going to destroy you. I think that's something happening to him.'
Madison Keys, whose Australian Open triumph in January came in her 46th grand slam, had spoken then about how therapy helped her play her best tennis and she said on Wednesday that mental health was being discussed more openly on the tours.
'I think it's definitely got more open,' Keys said.
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'I don't really remember it being a talking point much. I think more and more players are open to saying, 'I'm talking to someone'. I would say there's probably more of us that are speaking to someone now than there was before.
'We have people every single week at tournaments, which is super helpful. Just to have that support, I think they've done a really good job at really helping all of the players through what is a really tough career.'
There is different pressure for every player in the Wimbledon draw because grand slams bring together a cocktail of haves and have-nots.
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Neither Sabalenka nor fellow grand slam champion Iga Swiatek has ever won the All England club title, something that would enhance their legacy.
Maya Joint: 'Definitely going to get harder'
But Sabalenka's first-round Wimbledon opponent, Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine, was driving for Uber Eats as recently as February to help fund her tennis career. Branstine's final delivery was the day before she flew to Cancun and reached her maiden WTA 125K final.
The Australian who Branstine beat in the semi-finals at Cancun, 19-year-old Maya Joint, is at the beginning of her career but already understands the value of having support.
'It's a sport where you're always on the road, and you're always in hotel rooms, so it can get pretty difficult,' Joint said.
'I'm really lucky with my coaches, and my mum's with me this week. I have family in Europe and family in Australia, so it's good to try and find a balance, but it's definitely going to get harder, the longer I'm on tour.'
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