When Ons Jabeur announced a pause from Tennis last Thursday, there have been concerns over why the celebrated Tunisian trailblazer and three-time Grand Slam finalist may be stepping away from the spotlight.
She recently announced she would be taking an indefinite break from the sport. In a statement via her Instagram page, she said she needed time “to breathe, to heal,” revealing that despite her success, she hadn’t “truly felt happy on the court” for a long time.
“For the past two years I’ve been pushing myself so hard, fighting through injuries and facing many other challenges,” wrote Jabeur in a social media post. “But, deep down, I haven’t felt happy on court for some time now.
“Tennis is such a beautiful sport. But right now I feel it’s time to take a step back and finally put myself first: to breathe, to heal, and to rediscover the joy of simply living.”
This announcement once again raises questions not only in professional tennis but sport in general about the mental state of athletes.
Once a taboo topic, athletes now speaking out about mental health challenges is now helping to destigmatize the psychological strain and open up more conversations.
The Tunisian, Jabeur, is far from alone in choosing to prioritize her mental health. Over the years, we have seen athletes openly speak out and some take a break, or even quit the spot to focus on their mental health.
Not too long ago, young British player Gabriella Taylor, retired at the age of 20. She had endured intense pressure on tour, compounded by physical illness and online abuse from trolls.
CiCi Bellis, a former U.S. tennis star who reached the top 40 as a teenager, also walked away young. Repeated surgeries and the accompanying mental toll led her to retire in her early 20s. Bellis has since pursued education and entrepreneurship.
Canadian player Rebecca Marino is another example. After stepping away from tennis twice due to depression and burnout, Marino returned to competition with a more balanced perspective. As she’s shared in an interview with ESPN, therapy and support were instrumental in her comeback.
The story of Martina Hingis, one of the sport’s brightest talents, is also often cited. Hingis retired at just 22, disillusioned by injuries and the weight of expectations.
While she eventually returned to the court years later, her early departure was a signal how even top athletes are vulnerable to burnout and emotional exhaustion.
Noah Rubin, a former U.S. junior champion, made headlines when he quit tennis in 2022 to pursue professional pickleball.
He later returned briefly to tennis but has remained vocal about how the loneliness and grind of the tennis circuit affected his mental health.
Rubin has since become an advocate for player mental health, urging the sport to value mental strength as much as physical talent.
Here is the major issue; the professional tennis lifestyle, often seen as glamorous, hides a dark reality.
Players travel constantly, frequently without their families, and face enormous pressure to win in a highly individual sport and when they lose, there is the media and worst of all, online trolls who sometimes gio as far as sending death threats.
Some former players have described the emotional crash that follows major tournaments as intense and disorienting, especially for those who are young and unprepared.
Amanda Anisimova, who took a break in 2023 due to anxiety and depression, made a successful return to the court in 2024, eventually reaching the Wimbledon final few weeks ago.
Her comeback offered reassurance that leaving the tour temporarily does no’t signal the end, but can instead be the beginning of healing.
Mental health advocates have observed how the visibility of stars like Naomi Osaka and Alexander Zverev speaking openly about their struggles has shifted the conversation.
Osaka, in particular, stepped away from tennis to focus on her mental health and has since become a global ambassador for self-care and athlete protection.
These cases from high-profile players have made it easier for younger athletes to speak up early. They are less inclined to suffer in silence than previous generations who feared being labeled weak or ungrateful.
Multiple research indicates that one of the root causes of mental health struggles in tennis and many other sports is the pressure to perform and win, often at the cost of personal identity.
For many, their self-worth becomes entangled with match results, sponsorship expectations, and public opinion. Without psychological support, this dynamic can quickly spiral into anxiety, depression, or even self-harm.
To address this, sports psychologists recommend that players receive mental health education early in their careers.
Workshops that focus on self-awareness, stress management, and emotional resilience should be integrated into development programs, not offered as a crisis response.
Tennis federations and tournament organizers also have a role to play. Experts have called for all tours to employ dedicated mental-health personnel, including traveling therapists.
Normalizing breaks for rest and recovery, whether physical or emotional, is another key solution.
Athletes, like professionals in any field, benefit from downtime. Encouraging mindfulness, creativity, and hobbies outside the sport helps build a fuller, more grounded identity.
Governments can support by investing in youth sports programs that prioritize mental wellness. This includes funding for school psychologists, emotional wellness curriculum, and national campaigns that use top athletes as ambassadors to promote psychological safety in competition.
Also, collaborations between sponsors, tennis bodies, and mental health charities could also go a long way.
Companies that profit from sports endorsements should actively support initiatives that protect the emotional health of the talent behind the brand.
In the long run, encouraging these conversations not only protects the health of players but strengthens the game itself.
Players who are mentally well are more likely to have longer, more fulfilling careers and are better equipped to transition into life after sport.
When top athletes like Jabeur, Taylor, Bellis, Marino, Hingis, Rubin, and Anisimova step away from the court, they are not quitting. They are healing. They are human.
They are also showing us a new kind of courage one that does not come with a trophy, but with internal peace. Just the same way we suffer burn-outs from our respective jobs, so does these tennis stars.
The next step belongs to sport federations, governments, and fans: to listen, to support, and to ensure that the mental health of our sport stars is never an afterthought.
Stop the online trolls because these sport persons are also humans just like us. In doing so, we create a sporting culture that values the mind just as much as the muscle.
