Jenson Brooksby reveals reason behind coming out in public about Autism Spectrum Disorder

American tennis player Jenson Brooksby has opened up about why he decided to come out in public and talk about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The 24-year-old made those revelations just a week before Christmas last year when he stated that he was diagnosed with the disease as a young child.

Brooksby has recently spoken to BBC Sports, and he stated that the primary reason behind his decision to come out in public is to help families who are going through similar experiences.

"My whole life with my parents, it wasn't something you are very comfortable sharing because there could be consequences - especially when I was younger," said Brooksby. "But I've learned as I've grown up that even with people close to me, the response is very casual and not much is thought about it. I think my desire to be able to help other people with it in certain scenarios - say, if they are trying to become a professional player - was bigger than any negative outcome I could have thought of. I really hope that future players, whether they are vocal about it or not, they at least know it's OK for them to struggle with it and hopefully be able to explain why."

Brooksby, who recently featured at the Indian Wells, where he lost to Britain’s Jack Draper in the round of 32 in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-4, further went on to explain the impact of the sport in his life and believes that playing the sport is ‘a big release’ for him. "Sport was a big release for me. If I sit for a long time I can have a lot of energy bottled up, and so being a very active kid really let it out," he said. "I always wanted to train to try to be good at something. Even at that age, I think I had that mindset of competing and to be good at something."