Sydney (AFP)
Whimsical Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios admitted he had found himself in a "dark and lonely situation" over the past few years as he battled the depression brought on by the overwhelming pace of the ATP Tour.
“I don't think people understand how lonely tennis can be,” he said in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph in Sydney on Sunday.
"You are alone on the pitch. You can't really talk to anyone. You have to find the solution on your own. I struggled with this aspect," explains the 25-year-old, customary. algarades on the court.
His behavior at the Cincinnati Masters in August 2019 earned him a fine of $ 113,000, which then led him to label the ATP as a "corrupt" organization before retracting.
"I remember waking up in Shanghai a year ago, it was 4 pm and I was still in bed with the curtains closed. I didn't want to see the light of day," describes the current 45th World , saying he has been "seriously depressed" at times in the past.
“I felt like no one wanted to know me as a person, that they just saw me as the tennis player to use me. I didn't feel able to trust anyone. C 'was a lonely and dark place,' says Kyrgios.
"A lot of people put pressure on me, I put a lot of pressure on myself. I lost all joy in playing and I was getting out of control," he adds.
"I became depressed because of what I thought I had to be," says the Canberra native, who has chosen not to take part in the US Open or Roland Garros this year due to the Covid pandemic -19.
Kyrgios has also implicated some of his colleagues including world No.1 Novak Djokovic, accused of not taking the situation seriously enough.
He took this break to get involved in fundraising for victims of the deadly bushfires last summer in Australia as well as his foundation for underprivileged children.
"I really miss it (being on the tour). But I don't live and breathe tennis. There are other things I love to do," he said.
© 2020 AFP