LONDON
\nThe demanding schedule on the ATP and WTA circuits can have a negative impact on the mental health of players, tennis great Roger Federer said on Saturday.
\nThe 20-time grand slam champion retired from the sport in September after travelling around the world a number of times during a career that spanned almost a quarter of a century. While Federer was a month shy of his 40th birthday when he played his last competitive singles match, the Swiss admitted the toll of chasing titles and ranking points on a week-in, week-out basis can take its toll on players.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re supposed to show strength. But we\u2019re not machines, we\u2019re human beings,\u201d Federer said at a press conference in Tokyo.
\n\u201cWhen players retire at a super young age, I totally understand it. We see it from time to time. I always feel it\u2019s such a pity, because there could still be so much going on in the future. \u201cThe tour is tough… the travel, the practice, the jetlag. Nobody is allowed to say, \u2018I\u2019m tired today,\u2019 because it looks like you\u2019re weak, and that\u2019s why players sometimes end up with mental problems.\u201d
\nA number of tennis professionals have spoken out about their mental health struggles, including Naomi Osaka and Nivk Kyrgios while Ash Barty shocked the tennis world earlier this year when she retired from the sport less than two months after winning the Australian Open aged just 25.
\nFederer added that the strict doping regime also puts pressure on players, who have to inform relevant authorities about their whereabouts on a daily basis. \u201cWe have to fill out the doping forms every single day, one hour during the day, where you are,\u201d the 41-year-old Swiss said.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re always aware in the back of your head they could be coming any moment, especially in that hour.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think I was that much aware of it, how much that thought is always there, and it rides with you, until you retire and then you realise that stress all drops away.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON The demanding schedule on the ATP and WTA circuits can have a negative impact on the mental health of players, tennis great Roger Federer said on Saturday. The 20-time grand slam champion retired from the sport in September after travelling around the world a number of times during a career that spanned almost a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":209533,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-296415","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n