- Bernard Tomic opens up about mental health problems
- The tennis star said he struggled for three or four years.
- He says he feels better and will rise in the ranking
Forgotten Australian tennis star Bernard Tomic has spoken out about the mental health issues that led to him losing his passion for the sport and plummeting in the rankings.
Tomic, once ranked 17th in the world, has been denied a wild card entry to the Australian Open for the past two years, missing the tournament for the first time since 2008.
It has been a huge fall from grace for Tomic, who was once considered one of the most exciting prospects Australia has ever seen.
The former junior world number one has now spoken about the mental struggles he has endured over the years.
‘The tour is very difficult. Tennis is a very isolated sport. It’s very hard mentally and you have to travel alone,” Tomic said. sportskeeda.
Bernard Tomic says tennis is “an isolated sport” in which you spend a lot of time alone
Tomic, once ranked 17th in the world, says he has had mental problems
‘You’re not playing a team sport like football or basketball. You are on your own. You have to travel a lot and spend a lot of time alone. You need to figure out how to feel mentally good and when to recharge your batteries.
‘I also struggled for three or four years. I have managed to turn it around and feel better mentally. When you travel from a young age for many, many years, it can really take a toll on you mentally.
‘Sport can really exhaust you. You need to figure out what is best for you mentally and always find a way to stay positive and move forward. “In tennis you have to be in a good mental state.”
Tomic, who recently won the ITF M25 Chennai tournament in India, is quietly climbing the rankings and believes he can return to the top 50.
‘As of September 2022, it was in 800th place in the ranking. Over the last year and a half I’ve played well enough to come back,” Tomic said.
“I played a lot of matches. I missed tennis a lot for three years. I wasn’t playing much. And my fitness went down. It took me a little while to get into the rhythm.
But now I’m playing pretty well. But I still need to play a little better to get back to the top.
“I feel like I can play very well the next few years, especially considering my style of play. I don’t use a lot of energy in the way I play.
Tomic says he feels much more positive now and hopes to be in the top 50.
“So I think top 100 is very achievable for me. Even top 50. But you still need to stay healthy and do the right things. This next year will be interesting. As long as I stay healthy and keep practicing, I think I should be Well, let’s see.”
According to Channel Seven, Tomic earned $5,400 for his recent victory in India, plus approximately $100 for his first-round doubles loss.
This means that his tournament winnings would have practically covered his flight and hotel costs.
To put it in context, Tomic would have received $120,000 if he had been eliminated from the first round of the Australian Open men’s singles tournament.
Tennis Australia, which rules the competition, has a strained relationship with Tomic and was overlooked as a wild card in the tournament.
Australian Open boss Craig Tiley said Tomic did not deserve a place in the competition.
“It’s not so much about the relationship, but whether they deserve it,” Tiley said.
“The things we consider: the form of the player coming in, there is a factor that has to do with age in some cases, because do you want to give a chance to a younger player versus one who has been a journeyman for a while?”
A reflective Tomic recently said: ‘Everyone has a different journey.
‘You can’t control destiny. You learn to respect life and the little things.
‘If you did the right things between the ages of 20 and 24, you weren’t very professional. I worked very hard, but if I had done some things well, who knows.’