German tennis star Alexander Zverev reveals he has had depressive episodes this year but added he is not really someone who will publicly speak about his issues. Some players have a hard time dealing with online abuse but Zverev says hateful comments don’t affect his mental health, but some things do.
The past two years haven’t been really easy for Zverev. The ATP is investigation the domestic violence allegations Olya Sharypova made against Zverev, while the German was put on a probation following his Acapulco outburst.
“You have to learn not to look at it,” Zverev said, per Tennis365. “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: There is a lot more hatred going on now with social media
Some former tennis players think the new generation needs to “toughen up.”
However, Zverev thinks it’s a completely different time now than it was 30 years ago. “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,” Zverev said.
“Thirty 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”.
