Stephens on toll that tour life takes: "We tennis players are very alone"

Sloane Stephens spoke about the solitary life that tennis players lead.

The former world No. 3 discussed the mental health challenges faced by professional tennis players in an interview with Tennis Channel. She recently posted a comment on Instagram about the importance of mental health.

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Stephens highlighted that tennis has a difficulty as an individual sport, and it can become very lonely for players who have to travel throughout the year.

"We tennis players are very alone. It's a very difficult, lonely sport, and I think when we take the human aspect of like, 'oh, they're just competing', 'they're just sad', there are so many elements to being a tennis player and being a professional athlete," Stephens said.

"I think people don't actually sit down and take the time to think about their mental health," she added.

The American won her debut match at the Rome Open against Nadia Podoroska but lost in the second round to Belarusian Victoria Azarenka.

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