During this year’s Wimbledon, post-match interviews turned into televised therapy sessions, as players revealed internal turmoil.

While there is no one way to address mental health issues, according to experts, there are effective measures professional tennis players can take to manage their emotions. Carlos Alcaraz and Amanda Anisimova appear to practice those strategies.

“I’ve felt down a lot of times on the court and in tournaments. I’m just really happy to have found the right path again and such good joy on the court,” said Alcaraz in a post-match interview. “For me, it is not about winning or losing. For me it’s about having fun playing tennis, have fun stepping on court.”

Alcaraz takes a 24-match winning streak into the finals against Jannik Sinner on Sunday. Anisimova stunned No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to reach her first Wimbledon final, where she will play Iga Swiatek.

Anisimova took eight months off from tennis to focus on her mental health. She didn’t even pick up a racket for months.

“When I took my break, a lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you take so much time away from the game. And that was a little hard to digest, because I did want to come back and still achieve a lot,” said Anisimova in a post-match interview. “So just me being able to prove that, you know, you can get back to the top if you prioritize yourself. So that’s been incredibly special to me.”

Not since Naomi Osaka opted out of a press conference in 2021 has mental health been such a hot topic in tennis.

After his first-round loss, a sunken Alexander Zverev told reporters he never felt lonelier than he did out on the court and might consider therapy. When asked about Zverev’s despair, Aryna Sabalenka told the Associated Press that she was in treatment for five years.

“It’s really important to be open and to talk about what are you experiencing, because if you’re going to keep it inside, it’s just going to destroy you. I think that’s kind of like something happening to him,” Sabalenka said.

Madison Keys credits therapy with helping her win the 2025 Australian Open.

LaKeitha Poole, assistant athletic director of Sport Psychology and Counseling at LSU, said the destigmatization of therapy has changed in recent years, and more athletes are incorporating mental well-being into their overall performance preparation.

“It’s just like having your athletic trainer, your strength coach, your dietician,” said Poole. “You’re seeing people talking about therapy being a critical component of their recovery process. The stigmatization has shifted things and created safer spaces for people to be able to talk about it. And, I don’t think we’ll ever go back to when people were ashamed.”

Why Some Tennis Players Struggle With Mental Health

“Tennis is one of the toughest sports out there due to the individual nature of it and how young the professional players are when they turn pro,” said Mark Kovacs, a human performance scientist and CEO of the Kovacs Institute. “Many of them (tennis players) are in their teens, and some of them are in their early teens, and that in itself, creates a whole other level of pressure many other sports don’t have.”

A former All-American tennis player at Auburn, Kovacs also served as senior director of sports science and health for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He understands the unique pressure tennis players face.

“It’s one of the few sports in the world where the players actually hire and fire their coaches, their trainers, their support staff at a very young age. Most team sports, you have general managers, you have coaches that make those decisions for the players,” said Kovacs. “So there’s a whole pressure that comes with being a CEO of your own company . . . And then the challenge in tennis is there’s no guaranteed contracts, so you’re having to win matches to pay your bills, so you don’t have the opportunity of having a bad week or a bad month that immediately affects your bottom line.”

In an interview with the Tennis Channel, Alex de Minaur said, unlike in a team sport, tennis players can’t count on someone to pick up the slack if they’re having an off day.

“Ultimately, you’re out there on your own, right? So you are the one responsible for your own results,” said De Minaur. “There’s no hiding, right? So you’re constantly in the spotlight, and that with the travel, the weeks, the length of schedule, I think, does have an impact on on us as players and and human beings.”

Gen Z More Comfortable Talking About Mental Health

Poole believes one reason more tennis stars are talking about mental health is that more players are Gen Z.

“People who are part of that generation, broadly, whether they are athletes or not, they’re just much more comfortable talking about mental health,” said Poole. “They have much more of an emotional vocabulary. So, you know, I just think that they’re reframing what does it look like to be an athlete, not particularly playing tennis, but also just being able to be themselves and talk about what’s going on with them as they compete.”

Gen Z is also part of the influencer and the attention economy, in which staying relevant means posting a version of themselves online. Self-promotion, mining for likes, leads to business deals. Yet, TikTok likes provide an artificial connection, followers, not friends.

“There is such a dire issue of loneliness and isolation,” said Weirong Li, CEO of Raw Culture, a media company focused on amplifying narratives of global citizenship to create social change. As a communications coach, Weirong, 26, works with Gen Z professionals.

“In general Gen Z, because we grew up in such an online culture, in tech heavy world, it’s very hard for us to really build deep and genuine relationships.”

Weirong said Gen Z is programmed to rely on tech but wired for human interaction. She noted a video on YouTube for Gen Z on “How do I make friends?” that has millions of views.

“It’s so heartbreaking,” she said. “Meanwhile, the longest longitudinal study from Harvard School of Development found, what’s the secret to the most successful life? The quality and depth of our closest relationships.”

Weirong said Alcaraz’s focus on enjoying himself, friendships, and family keeps him grounded.

“When the athletes go back home they’re not that superstar, they’re just normal humans. And so it gives them a sense of kind of bringing them down (to earth), decreasing the stress,” Weirong said. “And so just having people who just like, feel like family, are family, comfortable about who you really are, definitely helps you with the anxiety of feeling like you have to behave a certain way.”

Whether it’s Coco Gauff joking about her younger brothers, Ben Shelton lobbying for his sister to get a day off, Djokovic showcasing his daughter’s silly dance, or Anisimova bringing her nephew onto the court after a win, human connections foster emotional well-being.

Performance Anxiety Versus Clinical Mental Health

Players who are working on staying focused during big moments are fighting a different beast than someone who is battling clinical depression. Unfortunately, sometimes people conflate the two, and that’s a mistake, says Kovacs.

“A lot of coaches would have the expertise to deal with some of the mental health challenges and create the right environment,” said Kovacs. “The challenge is, just like with coaches, physical trainers, there’s a whole level of expertise that varies in the mental health and sports psychology world.”

Jack Draper, who struggled with match performance anxiety, hired a breathing coach. Daria Abramowicz, a sports psychologist, is an integral part of Iga Swiatek’s team.

“You’ve got to be careful, especially with mental health, just like with physical health, if you work with someone who uses the wrong exercises, the wrong techniques, the wrong strategies, you can actually make a moderate problem to a major problem,” said Kovacs. “It’s like bringing a plumber in to fix an electrical problem. They (the plumber) are highly qualified, but not in that.”

Finding Purpose Beyond The Baseline

In 2019, Anisimova was a rising teen sensation when, just days before the U.S. Open, her father, also her coach, died of a heart attack. Anisimova struggled and finally decided to address her mental health in 2023.

“I learned a lot about myself, my interests off the court and just taking some time to breathe and live a normal life for a bit,” said Anisimova.

Alcaraz and Anisimova found purpose and meaning outside of tennis, key for an athlete’s mental health.

“Some of them are playing for something, where some of them are playing as someone,” said Poole. “And so if they’re able to anchor their purpose to something bigger, like being a happy warrior or their family, cultural representation, or their personal values, whatever it is, those things we know, research wise, sustain motivation and help support long term mental wellness.”

This time last year, Amanda Anisimova was working her way back onto the tennis scene after taking an eight-month mental health break from the sport. 

She had just fallen in the final round of Wimbledon qualifying after plummeting to 189th in the world rankings.

It capped a rather tumultuous stretch that saw Anisimova struggle to regain her footing in the sport she had dedicated her whole life to. The sport she shared with her father, Konstantin Anisimov, whose passing from a heart attack at 52 in 2019 impacted her greatly. 

But the former teenage sensation is now on the cusp of an all-time comeback. 

Robinson head coach Kevin Brown returns home, bringing college experience and a mission to tackle mental health while shaping young lives on and off the field.

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – The IWLCA (Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association) announced Taylor Priestley as one of just three student athletes across collegiate lacrosse to earn the 2025 IWLCA Community Awareness Award.

The individual Community Awareness Award recognizes those student-athletes who have contributed significantly to their community in a given academic year. These students have given their time and energy to support and develop athlete-community relations and have distinguished themselves from their peers.

Division II – Taylor Priestley, Northern Michigan University
Priestley, a senior Education major at Northern Michigan University, has earned the Division II Community Awareness Award for her groundbreaking leadership in promoting mental health awareness among student-athletes. Through her tireless work, Taylor has created impactful, sustainable programs that are transforming the campus culture at NMU. Taylor is the founder of the Beyond an Athlete blog, a platform that allows student-athletes to share their mental health journeys and stories in their own words. As co-founder of Cat’s Connect, NMU’s first student-athlete mental health awareness organization, Taylor has connected students with resources from national nonprofits like Hilinski’s Hope, Morgan’s Message, and The Hidden Opponent, while also securing university support and grant funding to expand their reach.

Her leadership has driven major initiatives including Student-Athlete Mental Health Week, QPR suicide prevention training, and multiple mental health awareness games for NMU athletics. She personally organized events like yoga sessions, therapy dog visits, and community service collaborations, all with a focus on wellness and destigmatizing mental health conversations. Taylor also played a key role in organizing a landmark event: “Tyler Talk: A Conversation with the Hilinskis“, which brought the founders of Hilinski’s Hope to NMU for the first time, offering support and education to over 300 athletes, coaches, and local community members.

Balancing all of this during her competitive season, Taylor has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to building a healthier, more compassionate athletic environment. Her passion, initiative, and impact make her a truly deserving recipient of the Community Awareness Award.

The full release from the IWLCA can be found here.

Hear from head coach Lindsey (LeMay) Majkrzak
“I am so proud of and overjoyed for Taylor for receiving this award. There is no one more deserving. She has made it her mission during her time here at NMU to make her community comfortable talking about athlete mental health and confronting their own struggles so that they may seek help.

She made this mission a reality through years of getting involved and working to put events into action that would help spark change. This work started with herself, then spread to our program (coaches included), and then to our athletic department as a whole.”

Community service accomplishments:
Priestley is a co-president of the NMU athlete mental health student organization Cat’s Connect, through this student organization she helped plan and accomplish the following:

– Separated Cats Connect from SAAC (the Student Athletic Advisory Committee) and turned it into an NMU student organization to access greater resources and impact more students.

– Planned and accomplished the first student-athlete mental health week at NMU in tandem with the national student athlete mental health week through the mental health awareness organization Hilinski’s Hope. The NMU student athlete mental health week included a different theme and activity for each day of the week all planned and organized by Cats Connect and SAAC. 

– Organized several mental health awareness events at sporting events including Volleyball, Women’s Wrestling and her own team Women’s Lacrosse.

– Organized and accomplished bringing an outside speaker to NMU to speak to the athletic student body, which was one of the original goals of the creation of Cats Connect. The outside org was the Hilinski’s of Hilinski’s Hope. The Hilinskis met with coaches, staff, and community members during their visit to Marquette, and ended their trip with a presentation to student athletes. The event was the first of its kind on campus.

Outside of Cats Connect:
Priestley organized a mental health awareness week for the lacrosse team leading up to our mental health awareness game. Each day, the lacrosse team listened to a presentation about a different mental health organization and the resources it provided. We also completed a unique mental health activity during this week and created an individualized mental health awareness shooting shirt to wear for our mental health awareness game. 

Taylor is the multi-year representative of the mental health organization The Hidden Opponent for NMU. Through this role she has been able to provide resources and content on athlete mental health awareness to athletes on her team and throughout NMU athletics.

Taylor created a student athlete mental health awareness blog called “Beyond an Athlete”. This blog has allowed her to give her fellow athletes a platform to tell their stories outside of sport. This blog is posted to the Center of Community and Connection website under “Beyond an Athlete”, and is reposted to the SAAC social media pages. 

“Taylor will leave NMU better than she found it when she graduates in December,” added head coach Majkrzak, “and then it will be our job to continue this important work with the tools that she’s left us.”

Hear from Emily Meier – Director of Case Management Services of the NMU CARE Team
CARE stands for “Case Administration and Resource Education,” but in simple terms, the CARE Team is a group of people who are available to support and guide any student at NMU who is going through a difficult time – whether it be academically, emotionally or psychologically.

The CARE Team is different than our Counseling and Consultation Services; CARE Team members work with you using a case management model to help you achieve your desired outcome. Think of them as your personal champion to help guide you through whatever you’re dealing with, while keeping you accountable to the commitment you made to yourself.

You can utilize the CARE Team as little, or as much, as you need! The CARE Team is not a disciplinary entity, it’s a collection of people available to support your wellbeing. Led by Emily Meier and comprised of personnel with expertise in student affairs, academic affairs, human resources, mental and physical health, student conduct and campus safety, the CARE Team is there to address the unique needs and challenges students may face.

“Taylor’s advocacy got Cats Connect off the ground in Winter 2025 as an official student organization that supports students’ complete wellbeing,” adds Meier. “As a co-president, Taylor was instrumental in setting up a QPR training for student athletes, bringing the Hilinski’s Hope speakers to campus, and collaborating with Green Athletes to promote sustainable activities for athletes.

While Cats Connect was under the SAAC leadership board in 2024, Taylor supported her fellow athletes with Student Athlete Mental Health Awareness Week programming and care packages and starting the blog “Beyond an Athlete” to promote more discussion around student athletes’ identity beyond their sport; Taylor passed her blog onto another athlete who will continue Taylor’s mission of giving athletes a voice.

Her planning, dedication, and passion for wellbeing led to Cats Connect to have a monthly focus for events and speakers on each dimension of wellbeing throughout the 2025-26 school year.” 

ALBANY, N.Y. — Ava Poupard, a senior at the University at Albany, has been named as one of the four collegiate award recipients for 2025 by the Capital District Sports Women of the Year organization. Poupard, who competes in lacrosse, will be recognized at the Capital District Sports Women of the Year Awards Gala on […]

Originally Published: July 9, 2025 at 3:26 PM EDT

High blood pressure is a surprisingly common condition, but it’s also one that goes under the radar far too frequently.

Also called hypertension, high blood pressure may affect almost half of all adults in the U.S. But many people don’t even know they have the condition.

“Blood pressure is one of the most important vital signs we have,” NBC News medical reporter Dr. Akshay Syal explained on a July 9, 2025, segment on the TODAY show. “Every time you go to a doctor’s office, the reason we check it is because it gives us a little window into your health.”

High blood pressure can come with serious symptoms. And, if left untreated, it also raises your risk for many other conditions down the line, including stroke, heart attack, heart failure and kidney disease.

That’s why it’s important to be aware of your blood pressure numbers and your risks for high blood pressure — even if you don’t think you have hypertension.

Lesser-Known Reasons for High Blood Pressure

Many factors can contribute to an increase in blood pressure, Syal said. That includes genetics, a sedentary lifestyle and high stress levels.

But there are also some risk factors for high blood pressure that aren’t as well known, Syal said.

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a condition that occurs when your airways become blocked during the night, often causing loud snoring along with headaches in the morning, irritability or mood swings, dry mouth when you wake up and other symptoms.

That affects blood pressure because, “at night, if your oxygen levels drop, your heart has to work a little bit harder to get oxygen to those organs,” Syal explained.

He also highlighted these lesser-known contributors to high blood pressure:

• Loneliness
• Pain medication use (particularly non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications)
• Excessive sugar consumption

How to Manage High Blood Pressure

Normal blood pressure is 120/80, Syal said. “And, honestly, the lower we can get, around 115/75, that’s what we love,” he added. If either of your blood pressure numbers is higher than 120/80, “you really want to talk to your doctor about controlling it,” Syal noted.

“Every organ system in our bodies has arteries and veins,” Syal said. “And that means our blood pressure leads to all of these organs.” So, if you think you might have high blood pressure, “You really want to get this under control as soon as you can,” Syal said.

That may sound scary, but with a doctor’s guidance, there are concrete ways to get your blood pressure on the right track.

“When we have patients in our office, we say, ‘Your blood pressure is high, but there’s something you can do about it,’” Syal said.

Those strategies might include increasing your physical activity, limiting ultra-processed or sugary foods, reducing sodium in your diet, implementing stress management techniques and prioritizing getting good sleep.

Some people may also benefit from medication to manage their blood pressure. Your doctor might also recommend monitoring your blood pressure at home to keep tabs on how you’re improving.