"My daughter couldn't see me like this" - Lucas Pouille opens up about the darkest hour of his career & stopping tennis for mental health reasons

Former World No. 10 Lucas Pouille recently opened up about his career's "darkest" hour and the struggles he's had to face since then.

Pouille is a former Grand Slam semifinalist (2019 Australian Open) and also a Davis Cup winner with the French team. He has won five singles titles on the ATP Tour to date. However, the Frenchman's career has gradually nosedived, and he now ranks 459th in the world -- his lowest position in 11 years.

In a recent interview with L'Equipe, Lucas Pouille admitted that the transition from being one of the brightest tennis prospects to being stuck outside the top 100 was very difficult for him emotionally.

Pouille's poor results - like losing in the first round of Challenger tournaments to lowly-ranked players - combined with his self-acknowledged "lack of humility" made it harder for him to score wins and get out of his slump.

"I had the chance to experience great emotions, to play in the biggest tournaments in the world, Grand Slam semi-finals, two quarters, win the Davis Cup, titles," Pouille said (as quoted by journalist Bastien Fachan).

"Going from that to being hooked by the 300th world in the first round of a Challenger, well, if we are not in tune with that, we cannot win. I didn’t have the necessary humility and it’s not pleasant to think that you lack humility," he added.

Pouille went on to reveal that he fell into deep depression during a UK Challenger tournament in 2022; he slept only one hour a night, drank alone, and stopped playing tennis. The "trigger" for him to awaken from that state was seeing a picture of his daughter on his phone and realizing she couldn't see him like that.

"I was drinking alone and sleeping one hour a night. For my mental health, I stopped tennis. The trigger was when I saw a picture of my daughter on my phone - she couldn't see me like this," he said.

The Frenchman added that it's difficult to start over because he still considers himself to be a top 10 player. Pouille also disclosed that he has lost almost all of his sponsors due to his lack of success.

He went on to refer to players such as Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka, stating that he understood how they might be feeling given that their careers are in decline as well.

"It's horrible because I'm still top 10 in my head! When you see Domi, Stan, I can only imagine what they go through. I haven't checked my ranking [No.459] since last May. I lost all my sponsors but clothing. When you've lived such high emotions, it's hard to start over," Lucas Pouille said.

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"I think about Paris 2024 every single day" - Lucas Pouille optimistic about competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics

Lucas Pouille pictured at the Mutua Madrid Open - Day Seven.

Lucas Pouille then stated that 10 days before the start of the 2022 Paris Masters in Bercy, his compatriot Pierre-Hugues Herbert asked him to play some tennis, which finally made him feel "good."

Later, when he was asked by the media about the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the 29-year-old regained some of his old spark. Pouille has decided to give tennis another shot, and he now thinks about representing France in front of his home fans every single day.

"10 days before Bercy, Pierre-Hugues [Herbert] asked me to hit and it felt good. Then in Bercy I was asked about the Olympics, which I've never played," Pouille said.

"It clicked. I told my wife I'm giving tennis another try. She was overjoyed. I think about Paris 2024 every single day," he added.