"We can do more to support players mental health" says ITF chief

Mental health issues in the tennis world became a prominent topic once Naomi Osaka raised the issue publicly at the French Open. As one of the biggest tennis stars in the world, Osaka created a lot of talk in a sport that does not like to talk things over publicly.

Now ITF chief Dasvid Haggerty spoke out publicly about the issue saying:

“Mental health is very, very important. As a normal course of business we work with the men’s and women’s tours together to really make sure we are there for the players, that they have the ability to talk to someone to get help when they need it in the proper way. But we think we can still do better.”

It's a welcome and positive development in a sport that usually takes forever to address issues. Asked what is being done to help players Haggerty said:

“We’ve also engaged with the IOC and other groups so it becomes more than just tennis but sport wide. I think the athletes after 15-18 months of lockdown in sport, it’s a difficult time. We need to be there for the athletes and certainly, tennis takes it very seriously.”