Our Blog

BTCA IS GETTING ON TOP OF MENTAL HEALTH

In:

Other News

The ATP are putting mental health at the top of the agenda and plan to expand its current system of support, which currently relies on tournament doctors and physios to raise the alarm when mental health concerns are recognised in professional tennis players.

The Lawn Tennis Association, meanwhile, plan to provide mental health first aid training to all its performance coaches by the end of the year and have stated that they are committed to fully supporting the mental well-being of all the players that they work with.

A recent article by Eleanor Crooks of the Independent dealt directly with the issue of Mental Health on the Professional Tennis circuit after Liam Broady admitted that he almost quit tennis after his own mental health struggles that led him to consider actually quitting tennis last year.

Broady, currently ranked 335 said “I don’t really like to complain about stuff and I only started to realise how much I was going through the motions towards the end of the year.

Liam reached out for help from 29-year-old sister and fellow player Naomi after the French Open but Liam stated that he would rather have talked to a professional than his big sister but did not know who to turn to.

BTCA believe that this lack of knowing who to turn to prevails right across the spectrum of tennis, and at grass roots levels it is just as important if not more so to get on top of mental health issues early.  It is vital that coaches are trained to recognise areas of concern and be educated as to how to guide those at risk towards obtaining the professional help they need.  This is why BTCA will also be providing official Mental Health First Aid Qualification training by the end of the year.