Lucas Pouille's candid take on mental health struggles: “Athletes are improving, but everyone lies about how they feel”

Lucas Pouille stated that “everyone is lying” on the Tour while addressing the mental health of tennis players. The former world No. 10 had previously opened up about his battle with depression and alcohol in recent years.

The 30-year-old Frenchman took a break in 2022 and fell sharply in the rankings, though he remains determined to return to his best level. Just a few days ago, Pouille reached the final of the Challenger in Saint-Brieuc but lost to Benjamin Bonzi.

Nevertheless, Pouille recently returned to the top 100, reaching world No. 94 after a six-year absence from the top 10. The Frenchman faced an elbow injury that forced him to take time off, which led to mental health issues, as he mentioned.

“I was drinking alone and sleeping one hour a night. For my mental health, I stopped playing tennis. The trigger was when I saw a picture of my daughter on my phone - she couldn’t see me like this,” he said at the time. “In life in general it’s a taboo, it’s a big taboo,” the 30-year-old told Clay.

“Tennis players are improving on that, but, you know, every day you’re seeing everybody, you say ‘hey, how are you’, and the first answer is like, I’m good, but actually everybody is lying.”

“You cannot be good every day, every single day of your life, so it’s normal not to tell the truth to anyone, because you’re not going to talk about your problems to anybody. The good thing is that more and more athletes are talking about it, and it’s important,” he added.

Pouille returned to the Tour in 2023 and has achieved some good results, winning two Challenger titles and reaching the third round at Wimbledon. The Frenchman explained why he wanted to speak openly about his mental health: “Well, for me, it was so important, because you know, being an athlete, being a tennis player, you always have to give a good image of yourself.”

“You always want to be proud on the court, not to show too many emotions, showing that you are strong… but people have to understand that it’s okay to sometimes feel bad, to feel weak, to feel sad sometimes,” he added. “We are human beings, and it’s important to talk about it, and to feel free, and not to feel guilty or ashamed to talk, that’s important.”