Six-time Grand Slam doubles champion Joe Salisbury said he will take a break from tennis, due to anxiety which left him with physical symptoms and a “feeling of dread.”

Salisbury, a former doubles world No. 1, told BBC Sport he was not planning a return before April, having made the decision during the Asian hard-court swing this fall, for which he was absent.

“I’ve had heart palpitations, a feeling of your heart beating all around your body,” Salisbury said. “You feel like your body is almost a bit shaky, almost like your whole body is vibrating a little bit.”

Salisbury, 33, said those feelings made him “not want to be playing and competing” at certain times through the year, citing a feeling of sickness in his stomach, which left him “struggling to sleep” and “struggling to eat well, eat enough”.

Salisbury and Neal Skupski finished as runners-up at six events this season, including the French Open and U.S. Open, and were defeated by Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten in the doubles final of the ATP Tour Finals in Turin Sunday. In 2022, Salisbury became just the third British man to hold a No. 1 spot in the ATP Tour rankings across singles and doubles, after Andy and Jamie Murray.

He is now ranked No. 10, and with his break is set to miss the Australian Open in January.

Salisbury said he managed his anxiety to a point where it had not “affected my tennis that much,” but added: “It’s taken an extra toll emotionally and mentally to do that. It’s meant that it’s just not been enjoyable being at a lot of the tournaments that I have played.”

He said he has not spoken to many people about his anxiety, but feels it is “something which a lot of other people are having to deal with.”

Experiences with mental health issues in tennis have previously been discussed by players on the tour including Naomi Osaka and Amanda Anisimova. Osaka said in 2021 she had battled “long bouts of depression” and took a break from her playing career, while Anisimova took an indefinite break from tennis in 2023, saying: “It’s become unbearable being at tennis tournaments.”