Aryna Sabalenka advised Alexander Zverev to seek support from family, as the German admitted to feeling “very lonely” after his shock exit from the first round of Wimbledon. Zverev opened up on struggling with mental health issues that he feels have negatively affected his game.
The Belarusian, on the other hand, is through to the third round of SW19. She defeated Marie Bouzkova 7-6(4), 6-4 in the second round.
Sabalenka was asked about Zverev’s comments and urged him to take action by prioritizing his mental health before it takes a toll on him. She was open about her own struggles. During her post-match press conference, Sabalenka said:
“I had a therapist for like five years. I stopped working maybe in 2022. It’s actually crazy to hear from someone like Alexander because he surrounded himself with the family. I think it’s really important to talk openly about whatever you’re dealing with. Especially if you have your family, you can say whatever you feel to your family.”
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"It’s really important to be open and talk about whatever you’re experiencing. If you’re gonna keep it inside, it’s just gonna destroy you. I think that’s something that’s happening to him. I think he just needs to open up to whoever is close to him. Family is the best... people who can accept whatever you’re dealing with. The moment you start to talk about your problems, you start realizing a lot of things. It helps to solve them."
Alexander Zverev put up a mammoth fight but fell to defeat against Arthur Rinderknech in five sets 7-6(3), 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4.
Alexander Zverev on his mental health struggles
Despite coming close on many occasions, Alexander Zverev has not been able to win a Grand Slam so far in his career. After losing to Arthur Rinderknech in the first round of Wimbledon, he opened up about his mental health struggles.
"I feel very alone out there at times. I struggle. Mentally, I’ve been saying that I’ve struggled since after the Australian Open. Just don’t know. Trying to find ways to get out of this hole. I keep finding myself back in it. I feel generally speaking quite alone in life at the moment, which is a feeling that is not very nice."
"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... I just feel generally very, very alone and very lonely. I don't know. Just never felt that way before."
Including Zverev, seven other top 10 players across the men's and women's draws bid farewell to the tournament in the first two days.
