131. IT’S SAD TO SEE – Reality Tennis

Sadly the more I travel on the pro tennis tour, the more I see players with sadness in their eyes. Maybe I am just more aware of it and it has always been the case, but maybe it is just because the tour has become an increasingly pressured environment, especially for those players outside the top tier level. For these players the grind is endless and the rewards comparatively small. The days are long and the travel is relentless. Even I, as a non player, can find travelling the tour hard going. Waking up not knowing where you are in the world, what the time is, and what day of the week it is. Thank goodness for mobile phones which can remind us of these things! 

Increasingly I am seeing players post on social media about their feelings of loneliness and isolation whilst on the tour. In fact, some players (high profile ones too) have either given up completely as a result of it, or have decided to take a ‘mental health’ break, to give themselves some respite from the endless flights, different timezones and the huge demands these have on the human body.

Even at the top tier level, the demands are huge. Players who left their homes in December to embark on the ‘Aussie Swing’ are still far from home, with no prospect of returning anytime in the near future. No sooner has the Australian leg finished and it’s the start of the ‘Middle East Swing’, with tournaments in Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai (women). Then the players move to Stateside for the ‘Sunshine Swing’, with tournaments in Mexico, the US (Indian Wells, Miami and Charleston) before heading back to Europe to Madrid, Rome, Paris, Wimbledon etc (the ‘Clay Court” and ‘Grass Court Swings’), with little or no let up in between. At least the players at this level get to travel in a degree of comfort and are looked after in nice hotels. Demands on their time are high though and the top players have endless media and sponsor commitments to meet, but it’s harder to feel too sorry for them when they are raking in huge sums of money in endorsements and appearance fees.

Whilst I appreciate that all jobs can be demanding, are there any others that generate as much combined physical and mental stress as pro tennis? It’s not just the physicality of playing this demanding sport. It’s more the physical stress on the body brought about by hours spent on planes and the changing time zones. Mentally it is the constant absence from home; the inability for players to have a social life and meaningful, ‘normal’ relationships with friends and family. It’s the missed birthdays; the worry when relatives (especially elderly ones) are sick; the lack of regular nights out and the simple things, like an evening at home. It’s no wonder that after a few weeks/months, that players have a pained look in their eyes. They are homesick and tired.

Mental health is a hot topic at the moment – far more so than it ever used to be, and whilst it can of course be used as an ‘excuse’ for many things, it is, in my opinion, an issue that should be taken seriously. Players are of course offered psychological help once they have reached the WTA/ATP tour levels, with on-site psychologists, and I would be interested to learn how many use this service. But what about the players on the ITF tour? Who looks out for them? Maybe it’s time for the tennis governing bodies to re think the tournament calendar and try to incorporate a number of ‘recovery/catch up’ weeks at certain times of the year, possibly in between each ‘swing’. This might give players an opportunity to rest, re-group, go home or simply enjoy some normality, before they embark on the next part of the tournament year. Food for thought?

#realitytennis