5 tennis players who bravely broke taboo by opening up about their fight with depression & mental health ft. Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka

The life of an athlete isn't easy. The struggle to get to the top, and then maintaining that position, is quite arduous. Winning makes it all worth it but the setbacks can often break an athlete's morale. Physical injuries are easy to spot and deal with but the mental toll of the daily grind is often brushed to the side.

Speaking about one's mental health was considered a taboo, especially for accomplished athletes. However, the stigma around the same has eroded over the years. Players across various sports have spoken up about their struggles with mental health.

With athletes having a global reach, their openness certainly has had a positive impact. On that note, here are five notable tennis players who have opened up about their mental health journeys:

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#5. Paula Badosa

Paula Badosa at the Abu Dhabi Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Paula Badosa has experienced plenty of highs and lows right from the start of her career. She was an accomplished junior, and was even compared to Maria Sharapova after winning the girls' singles title at the French Open 2021.

Expectations were high after she turned pro, especially following her victory at the Indian Wells Open in 2021. While she peaked at No. 2 in the rankings the following year, recurring injuries and inconsistent results took a toll on her mental health.

Badosa has been quite candid about her struggles with depression over the years. Speaking to the WTA in 2022, she addressed how people's lofty expectations affected her.

"They were like, I'm the next Maria Sharapova. I was very young and I wasn't prepared to listen to all that," Badosa said, in a video posted on the WTA YouTube page. "It was super big, a lot of expectations and pressure...People watching me wherever I play and expecting me to win every match was too much for me."

"I remember, a few years I had depression and a lot of anxiety. I was dealing with a lot of mental health issues. My head wasn't prepared to listen to all those things and compete," she added.

Badosa opened herself to further scrutiny in the Netflix series Break Point, in which she touched upon her mental health issues once again. She recently was on fellow tennis player Caroline Garcia's podcast and talked about dealing with the pressure that came with being a top player and its effects on her.

"Of course not. In my case, I always say that I love this sport, but there is always one moment in your life when it becomes a job. It becomes pressure, responsibility, and so many expectations that it's very tough to handle," Badosa said (at 3:24).

Badosa is in a better place now, and the same is reflected in her results. She recently reached her maiden Major semifinal at the Australian Open and returned to the top 10 of the WTA rankings as well.

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#4. Robin Soderling

Robin Soderling at Wimbledon 2011. (Photo: Getty)

Soderling catapulted to global fame after he handed Rafael Nadal his first-ever loss at the French Open in 2009. He went on to reach the final but lost to Roger Federer. He then upset the Swiss the following year en route to the final for the second year in a row, and this time he lost to the King of Clay.

Unfortunately, Soderling's time at the top was rather brief. Following his title-winning run at the Swedish Open in July 2011, he stepped away from the tour due to injuries, and was later diagnosed with mononucleosis. He remained absent from the tour for a long time and eventually confirmed his retirement in 2015.

It was only years later that Soderling opened up about his struggles during his playing days. He penned a lengthy note on Instagram in 2020 and stated that he suffered from anxiety and panic attacks. While he lamented the lack of guidance on how to deal with mental health issues, he also added that he's in a much better place now.

"No one gives you information and tools on how you are supposed to handle the pressure both on and off the court. How to take care of yourself mentally just as carefully as you’re taking care of your body. In 2011 I was in the best physical shape of my life - but from one day to another I couldn't take a step, I couldn't breathe, I just wanted to crawl out of my skin," Soderling wrote.

"I am happy and lucky to have come out on the other side now. After fighting anxiety and panic attacks from July 2011, I have been giving my body and mind time to heal, and now finally - 9 years later, I feel good again, maybe even better than before," he added.

Soderling has kept himself occupied in other endeavors since his retirement. He coached his compatriot Elias Ymer for a while and captained the Swedish Davis Cup Team as well.

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#3. Nick Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios at the Australian Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Kyrgios has earned a reputation as the bad boy of the tennis world. However, the Aussie has dealt with his fair share of mental health struggles and has opened up about the same in recent years.

Kyrgios admitted to having suicidal thoughts and admitted that he self-harmed after being eliminated in the second round of Wimbledon 2019. He spoke about the same in an Instagram video during his injury hiatus in 2023.

"I used to struggle a lot, early parts of my career, 2019, obviously self-harming and went through that stage when I was suicidal. I feel like I was able to learn so much through that and make it out of it and still play at absolute top level," Kyrgios said.

"Everyone goes through these problems, they have issues they need help with and I was one of those people, so you have to take care of yourself... I am not perfect and you look at some other tennis players, they were pictured to be gods, super-playing kind of perfect," he added.

Kyrgios also admitted to seeking help from professionals to deal with these issues. During his appearance on the Netflix series BreakPoint, he credited fellow pro-Naomi Osaka and her stance on mental health for having a positive impact on his life as well.

"Naomi was the person that I was seeing taking time away from the sport. And then I saw that and that opened my eyes, I was like "Holy shit, someone's actually doing it. Wow." Because I was going through that for ages before she did it," Kyrgios said.

"And then I told her "You helped me because maybe if I kept going, I wouldn't be here right now." Because that's how bad it was and then I've just now completely shortened my schedule. I only play when I want to play, I only do what I want to do," he added.

Osaka, on her part, has been a champion of mental health issues, among other things, for a long time now.

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#2. Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Osaka was one of the most high-profile players to bring the issue of mental health to the forefront. Prior to the French Open 2021, she stated that she wouldn't partake in any post-match conferences in order to safeguard her mental well-being.

Osaka later withdrew from the tournament altogether and skipped Wimbledon as well. She also added that she has suffered from depression since the US Open in 2018.

"Hey everyone, this isn't a situation I ever imagined or intended when I posted a few days ago. I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well­being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris," - Osaka said.

"I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer," she added. "More importantly I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly. The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that."

Following her third-round exit from the US Open 2021, Osaka shut down her season and announced that she was going to take a break for a while. She explained that she didn't feel too happy even when she won a match, and losing obviously made her feel worse.

"How do I go around saying this? I feel like for me recently, like, when I win I don't feel happy. I feel more like a relief. And then when I lose, I feel very sad," she explained. "I don't think that's normal. I didn't really want to cry, but basically I feel like..."

"This is very hard to articulate. Basically I feel like I'm kind of at this point where I'm trying to figure out what I want to do, and I honestly don't know when I'm going to play my next tennis match (tearing up). Sorry. I think I'm going to take a break from playing for a while," - Osaka said.

After enduring so many ups and downs, Osaka now has a positive outlook on life and tennis. She returned to the sport last year after the birth of her daughter and has handled everything thrown at her quite well.

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#1. Serena Williams

Serena Williams at the US Open 2022. (Photo: Getty)

Williams' numerous accomplishments have cemented her position as one of the very best in the history of tennis. However, she had to overcome a lot in her personal life to get to that point. The tragic murder of her sister, Yetunde Price, in 2003 had a deep impact on her, and her mental health was at an all-time low in light of that. She touched upon this in her autobiography.

"Tennis was about the last thing on my mind. It didn't seem important. I went through the motions of rehabbing and keeping in shape, but my heart wasn't in it and my head wasn't even close. My drive, my sense of mission and purpose, my desire to be the best in the world... all these things had fallen away without me fully realising it," Williams said.

Every athlete expects to deal with an injury at some point in their career, but that knowledge doesn't make it any easier. Williams had to deal with a few injuries and health issues between 2009 and 2011, and it was a dark time for her. She also admitted to dealing with postpartum depression following the birth of her first daughter, Olympia, in 2017, and shed light on the same in an interview with Harper's Bazaar.

"Honestly, sometimes I still think I have to deal with it (postpartum depression)," she said at the time.

"I think people need to talk about it more because it’s almost like the fourth trimester, it’s part of the pregnancy. I remember one day, I couldn’t find Olympia’s bottle and I got so upset I started crying... because I wanted to be perfect for her." Williams said.

Williams retired from the sport in 2022 and had another child after that. She has now thrived in her role as an entrepreneur and a businesswoman while making occasional appearances at tennis tournaments.