French Open 2022: ‘I was quite depressed at times’ – Alexander Zverev discusses battle with mental health

Alexander Zverev has discussed batting with his mental health in 2022.

The German is one of the band of young players looking to take over the baton from the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

The men’s game looks in decent health, with the likes of Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitipas, Felix Auger-Aliassime and rising star Carlos Alcaraz snapping at the heels of the big three.

Expectation is huge, and that brings pressure and plenty of attention.

Following the match, Zverev revealed he has been fighting a battle with his mental health.

“You have to learn not to look at it,” Zverev said when asked about negative comments aimed his way. “But for me, my mental health does not depend on social media.

“My mental health depends on other problems I have, to be honest. I never talk about it. I think some players talk about it more often, and more open. I don’t like to do that, but I was struggling a lot this year.

“So, yeah, not because of social media. I was struggling a lot because of other things, so I was not happy.

“I think I was quite depressed at times, as well. So, yeah. It’s all a big part. I think the pressure we are under, we are constantly in a spotlight.”

Zverev feels the scrutiny the current crop of players are under is tougher than what previous generations of players had to deal with.

“I think players from 20, 30 years ago don’t understand because now every single little thing you do, there is a camera there or someone that can comment on it or there is someone that will write about it,” he said. “30 years ago it wasn’t like that.

“These days I think with social media and a lot of other platforms, there is a lot more involvement and there is a lot more hatred going on.

“That’s just the world we live in right now. It’s sad to see. But that’s the reality, because I think social media gives everybody a platform to say whatever they want, good or bad.”

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