One of the most talked about issues troubling professional tennis today is the mental health of the players related to the trials & tribulations, agonies and ecstasies, highs and lows, and love/hate elements that occur from a lifetime of high pressure, competitive court combat.
Serbian journalist Sasa Ozmo asked Novak Djokovic for his perspective about this dilemma in tennis and shared a most revealing point of view…
Ozmo asked Novak why so many tennis players feel burnt out or turn to antidepressants?
Djokovic said: “The first thing that comes to mind is that social media is extremely present and largely dictates the mood and daily rhythm of an athlete — especially young ones, but older ones too. Everyone is on social media, and you can get lost there, get too attached to comments, to what someone types on a keyboard or phone… and that hurts. It’s not trivial. That’s something we need to talk about seriously.”
2: “There are various other factors. The fact is, in my opinion, that kids are pushed too early into strict professionalism, before they’ve developed emotional intelligence, which is part of psychological preparation for life. When a talent is spotted, they push them professionally — just play, play, play — and then all sorts of agents latch on, those with interest in success, and they push the player to play as much as possible so they earn more. It’s a vicious circle, and if a player gets a bit lost in that, it can strongly affect their psyche and how they live their life.
3: “Tennis has the longest season of all global sports. For most who play the full schedule, it’s from January 1 to late November. Other sports have more competitions now too, but tennis is individual — there are no substitutes, no ‘I don’t feel good today, can you sub in for me for five minutes so I can rest’… Here, every point matters, every day matters. If you want to reach the highest heights, you have to transform your entire life in service of tennis and sport. You lose yourself, it’s too big of a bite for most.”
Novak Djokovic · Serbia · Wimbledon
