This column first appeared in Malta Today

By the time you read this, we will know whether young Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisova has won the prestigious title at the age of 23.

Reading her story, it is an impressive achievement for her to have come this far, especially as she had taken a step back from this demanding sport in May 2023, citing her mental health.  It is not easy to come back to professional tennis after a break so when she announced that she would be on indefinite leave, many wrote her off as yet another young athlete who had shown a lot of promise but who just could not take the pressure.

The WTA tour is a relentless round of tournaments, and requires stamina, resilience and discipline as players travel around the world, competing against one in another in arguably the world’s loneliest sport.  It is not uncommon to hear of burnout, especially among younger players fighting to climb up in the ranks, or to retain their place.

Amanda’s break extended into 8 months during which time she took up painting and found that art helped her to relax.  On Thursday, ranked number 13, and against all odds, she beat world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka. On Saturday she faced Iga Swiatek, ranked number 4 (at the time of writing that result is still unknown). 

Amanda’s words, however, will still resonate:

“It goes to show that it is possible. I think that’s a really special message that I’ve been able to show. Because when I took my break, a lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you take so much time away from the game. That was a little hard to digest because I did want to come back and still achieve a lot and win a Grand Slam one day. Just me being able to prove that you can get back to the top if you prioritise yourself. That’s been incredibly special to me. It means a lot.”

She is not the only tennis player who has spoken openly about the need to take some time away for self-care.  Andrey Rublev has publicly discussed his struggles with depression and anxiety, and admitted he was on anti-depression pills. Alexander Zverev in his post- Wimbledon interview this year spoke about how lonely he felt, says that he “lacked joy” both on and off the court,  and that he had never felt so empty before.

This recurrent theme, not only in tennis but other sports, has made me wonder whether fragile mental health is unique to this generation or whether it is simply more acceptable to bring it out in the open and be honest about it.  After all competitive sports have always existed, haven’t they? 

I watched an interview with world champion gymnast Simone Biles who described the mounting anxiety and terror she felt at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics when she realised something was “off”. In gymnastics they call it the “twisties” – the term used for a mental block that creates a disconnect, causing gymnasts to lose their sense of spatial orientation while performing twisting skills.  Imagine the scenario: the world’s eyes are on you, expecting more greatness after an outstanding performance in the Rio 2016 Olympics at the age of 19. The pressure of wanting to bring home Gold for her country, the fact she was team captain, with the younger girls competing at the Games for the first time looking up to her, relying on her leadership and example…it was all too much.

Simone faltered, only completing one and a half twists instead of the intended two and a half, and stumbled on her landing. The USA and the world, gasped in shock.  She walked off in a daze, and withdrew from the Games.

Recalling the episode in the interview she says her first thoughts were, “America hates me, the world is going to hate me, and I can only see what they’re saying on Twitter right now.”  As her mind raced about the implications of what happened, she also feared that she was going to be banned from America. “Because that’s what they tell you, ‘Don’t come back if it’s not gold. Gold or bust – don’t come back.’”  

She was only 24 years old.

None of us who remember ourselves at that age can possibly relate to such enormous, unrealistic and frankly preposterous expectations.   At 24, my biggest problem was what I would wear on Saturday night.

After taking an extended break during which she battled and overcame severe depression, Simone Biles came back for the Paris 2024 Olympics. At those Games, Biles demonstrated a renewed sense of purpose and triumphed once again, winning three Gold medals and leading Team USA to victory.

I am fascinated and absorbed by these stories of athletes who have crushing setbacks in their career, but recognise they have a problem which will not go away without professional intervention, whether it is therapy, meds or just a break away from it all. They take a much needed ‘time out’, only to come back stronger and more confident than before.  It is not only the fact that they are back to winning, although that is undoubtedly a bonus; it is because they set a much-needed example to their contemporaries, proving that failure does not mean your life is over. 

These stories show that while one may feel the world has crumbled around them, nothing is insurmountable if one is prepared to do the work, as the saying goes, which means digging deep within to unlock issues and (in Simone’s case) even past trauma which has been repressed for much too long.  

They also point to a very crucial issue which is relevant to all young people, even those not in the public eye, because these days many have put themselves (willingly) into the limelight.  The power of social media, especially Twitter and Instagram, is indisputable.  Once you put yourself out there, splashing your photos, your relationships, your ups and your downs for all to see and comment on…your life is no longer yours. You have deliberately opened the metaphorical windows and doors of your world, all the intimate details and minutiae of your daily life, including when girls and women strip down to their underwear to demonstrate what outfits they are going to wear.  Everyone has an opinion and feels entitled to express it (and you yourself have unwittingly invited these opinions, don’t forget).

It’s a free world, sure, but you never know who is watching and your followers might be harmless folk or they might be perverts, stalkers and haters, ready to tear you down with their bare teeth like vultures when you least suspect it.  We, as a culture, have never been so fully exposed to the gaze of strangers and never in history have ordinary people had such complete liberty to spout whatever they feel about a person or a topic as they sit there, anonymously tapping on their keyboards. When they make a particular person their target, it can turn vicious, sinister and evil.  You never know what disturbed and disturbing emotions are stirred up in others, especially those who do not socialise or have meaningful interactions in real life, but who only have social media as their means of communication. 

Even when comments are posted by “friends” on FB who are so quick to write a quick phrase of praise or perfunctory words of empathy, it is essential to realise that they are not friends in the true meaning of the word. Friends are people you have built a genuine relationship with through a shared history, the ones who are there for you (and more importantly, you are also there for them).  The mental health crisis in young people is intrinsically linked to all these factors which have increased through the constant, addictive use of social media and this is probably why we see it talked about so often, whether in the context of professional sports or simply from what we are witnessing in those around us.  

We all need that much-needed break…our well-being depends on it.