NEW YORK—Back in 2011, when Rebecca Marino was just 20, everything seemed to come so easily to her on a tennis court. The Canadian reached the third round at the French Open that year—soon after, she rose to No. 38 in the world rankings.
The pressures of being a young athlete growing up while traveling the world, trying to break through, seeking significant results, can take a toll. Naomi Osaka, a four-time major champion, is just one prominent example of a tennis player who has discussed her struggles with mental health in recent years. Ash Barty left the tour for two-and-a-half years in her teens, came back to play and win three Grand Slam titles, then retired this year while ranked No. 1 at age 25.
Things became overwhelming for Marino in 2012, and she tried a six-month break to see if that would help. When she played next, things were not appreciably better. So she stopped for good. Or so she thought. Going back to her former life was not in the picture, she says, until 2017, when her father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. .
“I wanted to see if I was comfortable around a tournament environment and then I’d make my decision,” she recalled. “So by the end of the week, I was like, ‘I’ve got to do it.’ … I was in a fantastic place mentally. So two weeks before school started for my last year of university, I dropped my classes, quit my job, stopped the rowing team and went all in.”
Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)