Alexander Zverev opens up about ‘suffering from depression’ due to social media, argues how former players didn’t face enough criticism
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Alexander Zverev
German third seed Alexander Zverev had to come back from 2 sets down to beat Estoril Open champion, Sebastian Baez, in the second round of the French Open. Zverev defeated Baez in a five-set marathon 2-6,4-6,6-1,6-2,7-5 to advance into the third round. This is his fifth consecutive third-round appearance on the Parisian clay, a place where he has naturally done well.
In the post-match press conference at the French Open, Zverev spoke about how he handles online hate and abuse. He revealed that with time, he has learned to not get bothered by it. He also spoke about his mental health and how he doesn’t let social media affect it. He also opened up about how he doesn’t like to talk about his mental health on public platforms like some other players.
“You have to learn not to look at it,” Zverev said. “But for me, my mental health does not depend on social media. My mental health depends on other problems I have, to be honest. I never talk about it. I think some players talk about it more often and are more open. I don’t like to do that, but I was struggling a lot this year.”
He revealed not only social media, he was affected by things in his personal life too, and also revealed how he was depressed at times. “So, yeah, not because of social media. I was struggling a lot because of other things, so I was not happy. I think I was quite depressed at times, as well. So, yeah. It’s all a big part. I think the pressure we are under, we are constantly in the spotlight,” he said.
Alexander Zverev talks about how former players had it easy because of lack of social media
Zverev also spoke about how former tennis players had it easy because of no social media. He revealed how having a camera at you 24/7 affects you and how things were different 30 years ago.
“I think players from 20, 30 years ago don’t understand because now every single little thing you do, there is a camera there or someone that can comment on it or there is someone that will write about it. 30 years ago it wasn’t like that,” he said.
He also spoke about how social media has incorporated hatred into daily lives and called it a ‘sad reality’ as it eventually gives everyone a platform to speak- be it good or bad.
“These days I think with social media and a lot of other platforms, there is a lot more involvement and there is a lot more hatred going on. That’s just the world we live in right now. It’s sad to see. But that’s the reality because I think social media gives everybody a platform to say whatever they want, good or bad,” he said.
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Lakshya Chopra
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