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The demanding schedules on the ATP and WTA circuits can have a negative impact on players’ mental health, according to tennis legend Roger Federer.
The 20-time grand slam champion retired in September after a career that spanned nearly a quarter-century and included numerous trips around the world.
While Federer was a month shy of his 40th birthday when he played his last competitive singles match, the Swiss admitted that chasing titles and ranking points on a weekly basis can be taxing.
“You’re supposed to show strength. But we’re not machines, we’re human beings,” Federer said at a press conference in Tokyo.
“When players retire at a super young age, I totally understand it. We see it from time to time. I always feel it’s such a pity, because there could still be so much going on in the future.
“The tour is tough… the travel, the practice, the jetlag. Nobody is allowed to say, ‘I’m tired today,’ because it looks like you’re weak, and that’s why players sometimes end up with mental problems.”
Several tennis players, including Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios, have spoken out about their mental health struggles, 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 at the age of 25.
Federer added that the strict anti-doping regime places additional strain on players, who must notify relevant authorities of their whereabouts on a daily basis.
“We have to fill out the doping forms every single day, one hour during the day, where you are. You’re always aware in the back of your head they could be coming any moment, especially in that hour,” the 41-year-old Swiss said.
“I don’t 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.”
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