"After Wimbledon I had no reason to live": Andrey Rublev candid on rock bottom mental health struggles

Andrey Rublev has been open about suffering from severe depression and anxiety attacks that led to him being suicidal at one point after an unexpected opening loss at Wimbledon last year.

Rublev was once ranked as high as fifth but finds himself like many top names chasing for previous highs with no visit to Turin this year and in reality one of his worst seasons. But Rublev said that while he is not there yet, he is chasing solace that it wasn't as bad as before.

Speaking to The Guardian, Rublev said that after losing in the opening round of Wimbledon last year he saw no reason to live and his inner demons were left destroying him over helping him and that he also struggled in being given antidepressants.

"Now I feel much better. I'm not where I want to be yet, but I finally have a foundation. Six months ago I was going through the worst period of my life. After Wimbledon I had no reason to live. It sounds dramatic, but the thoughts in my head were destroying me. There was no more time for tennis. The problem was in me. I couldn't handle it anymore," said Rublev.

While he has amassed over £23million in career earnings as well as 17 career titles, his career has taken a bit of a turn as of late with his outbursts on court garnering more traction than his actual on court play. He seeked out medication to help him out of his dark slump. But he said that while this was the case, it was a new coach in Marat Safin, the erratic former World No.1 who ended up giving him what he needed and proved more beneficial.

He said that he has since been working with a psychologist and feels in a better place now than he did after last year's Wimbledon.

"I took antidepressants, but they didn't help me. In the end, I said to myself 'I'm not taking anything anymore,'" he said. "Safin helped me understand many things. I started working with a psychologist. I'm learning a lot about myself.

"You can have everything in life, but if there is something in you that you don't want to see, you will never be happy. When you find the problem and accept it, you will get better."

Rublev won Doha back in February but in reality hasn't had the best year of his career albeit money is no object in regards to him claiming £2.3million this year but of course his happiness is the main thing. His last match of the season came in Paris when he was defeated by Ben Shelton at the Last 16 stage.