Doubles star Joe Salisbury to take break from tennis due to anxiety and mental health

Six-time doubles Grand Slam champion Joe Salisbury has decided to take an extended break from competing citing anxiety and mental health reasons. It will not be until spring when we see him possibly return.

The former doubles number one recently reached the final of the ATP Finals doubles event with partner Neal Skupski. The British pair defeated fellow countrymen Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool in the semi-finals to set up a tie with Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten. Salisbury and Skupski would lose 7-5, 6-3 in the final.

That will be the 33-year-old's final match for a period of time after he made the executive decision to focus on his mental health, as he explained his struggles with anxiety. "I've had heart palpitations, a feeling of your heart beating all around your body," Salisbury explained in an interview with BBC Sport. "You feel like your body is almost a bit shaky, almost like your whole body is vibrating a little bit."

“It's been tough to deal with at times and it's made me not want to be playing and competing at times throughout the year. It's definitely a lot in the stomach - you feel sick to your stomach. I've been struggling to sleep and then, because of the feeling in the stomach, struggling to eat well, eat enough. It's almost like a feeling of dread - that something bad is going to happen."

It has been a welcome return to form for Salisbury in this campaign. Three Grand Slam final defeats followed by the loss in the ATP Finals shows a return to competing at the top after falling down the order last year, failing to qualify for the ATP Finals despite being the back-to-back reigning champions.

He admitted that his anxiety concerns have not affected his tennis. "I wouldn't say it affected my tennis that much," Salisbury said. "We've played well, especially the past six months. I feel like I've dealt with it well and managed to get myself into a good enough state on court to perform well in most of the matches that I have played. But I think it's taken an extra toll emotionally and mentally to do that. It's meant that it's just not been enjoyable being at a lot of the tournaments that I have played."

Mental health is always a hard topic to talk about, with Salisbury keeping his problems confined to his close circle. "I haven't spoken to too many people about the struggles that I have had - mainly my team, friends and family, so not too many people in the tennis world," he stated.

"I think a lot of people don't want to share too much because they don't want other people to know about that, when you are having to go and compete against them. But to be honest I don't really mind if people do know. I'm sure it's something which a lot of other people are having to deal with and I don't think it would have any impact on me, as if anything over the past year it's made me mentally stronger than before."

Skupski will partner with American Christian Harrison. It is yet to be seen how fruitful this relationship will be, and if the Brit will return to Salisbury's side for t when he returns.

"I've said to Neal I would like to play with him when I come back, but if he does well with his partner, and he decides to carry on with them, then I'll be looking for someone else," Salisbury acknowledged. "At that time of the year there are often partnerships that have split up and people who are looking. But I'm not going to think about that too much until I decide when I am going to come back."