Roger Federer: We shouldn’t forget the players who suffer from mental health problems

20 time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has said it is important not to underestimate the importance of mental health in tennis, in a recent interview where he was helping raise funds for Brazil in the current crisis.

Roger Federer says we need to show support to each other

During his interview, Federer commented, "We shouldn’t forget the players who suffer from mental health problems. It is important that we do not underestimate the importance of mental health in our sport. It’s very unusual. We haven’t seen this in many many years. It isn’t easy [to deal with]. It is important that we do not underestimate the importance of mental health in our sport. We need to show support to each other. Maybe it’s a fresh start that people and the world needs.”

Several players have spoken about the importance of mental fitness in recent times, especially after the lockdown was announced in March due to the global pandemic.

The men's ATP Tour has taken some steps to address the issue in recent weeks. These include collaborating with 'Sporting Chance' to open a 24-hour hotline that players can call and speak to therapists specifically trained to deal with athletes; providing players with access to 'Headspace', an online company that provides content on meditation, mindfulness, sleep behaviour and training methods; and access to the 'Coursera' learning platform where over 4,200 online courses are offered on a wide variety of subjects.

Roger Federer is considered the Greatest Player of all Time in men's tennis by many. He has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles—the most in history for a male player—and has held the world No. 1 spot in the world for a record total of 310 weeks (including a record 237 consecutive weeks). He was also the year-end No. 1 five times. Federer has won a record eight Wimbledon singles titles, six Australian Open titles, five US Open titles, and one French Open title. He is one of eight men to have achieved a Career Grand Slam. He has won 103 career titles, the second most in the Open Era, and was a member of Switzerland's winning Davis Cup team in 2014. At the 2008 Olympic Games, Federer won the gold medal in doubles along with Stan Wawrinka.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/305oCye