Alexander Zverev has revealed he received “professional help” having opened up about his mental state following his defeat at Wimbledon last month.
After suffering a tough five-set loss to Arthur Rinderknech in the opening round at Wimbledon, Zverev revealed he had been struggling mentally since his defeat in the Australian Open final in January.
“I feel very alone out there at times. I struggle mentally. I’ve been saying that since after the Australian Open,” the German explained in his press conference.
“Yeah, just don’t know. I’m trying to find ways, trying to find ways to kind of get out of this hole. I keep kind of finding myself back in it in a way. Yeah, I don’t know. I feel, generally speaking, quite alone in life at the moment, which is a feeling that is not very nice.”
The world No 3 added: “It’s not a feeling on a tennis court, it’s just a life feeling in general. As I said, I never felt this way before. I don’t know. It’s difficult to find joy outside the tennis court for me at the moment.
“It’s not an excuse or anything. I think Arthur deserved to win today. It’s nothing that… It’s something I’ve felt for the past few months. Again, I just feel generally very, very alone and very lonely. I don’t know. Just never felt that way before. I don’t have the answers right now.”
Asked if he would consider seeking help from a therapist, Zverev said: “Maybe for the first time in my life I’ll probably need it. I’ve been through a lot of difficulties.”
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During the Cincinnati Masters, Zverev spoke about the benefits he is experiencing as a result of spending time away from tennis after Wimbledon.
“I took a longer period of time off after Wimbledon, which I haven’t done in a very long time, which was very needed,” said the 28-year-old.
“I didn’t train, I didn’t do any physical work, I didn’t play tennis for a longer time as well, which was the best thing for me to do.
“And I enjoyed my time, mentally freed up, got also some professional help as well there. I’m happy to be back on court.”
Zverev received advice from both Rafael Nadal — and the tennis great’s uncle and former coach Toni Nadal — when training at his academy in Mallorca after Wimbledon.
The German returned to action in Toronto and reached the semi-finals — and he has also progressed to the last four in Cincinnati, where he will face Carlos Alcaraz.
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