Wimbledon star brings Boris Becker to tears after making honest confession
A Wimbledon star candidly opened up about their mental health.
Boris Becker says he was brought to tears when he watched Alexander Zverev candidly open up about his mental health struggles following his Wimbledon exit. Zverev admitted to feeling ‘empty’, ‘alone’, and revealed that he ‘lacked joy’.
A gruelling first-round clash with Arthur Rinderknech ended in a tough five-set defeat for the world No. 3. Zverev’s form has dipped significantly this year. He has struggled to find consistent form since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final. After being beaten by world No. 72 Rinderknech, the 28-year-old confessed that he had been struggling with his mental health. Compatriot Becker said that he was reduced to tears by the press conference and is ‘worried’ about Zverev.
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“I watched the press conference live and I cried. A person opened up and said, ‘I have problems, I have mental problems, help me. I don’t have anyone around me except my daughter, who is four years old, with whom I like to spend time, where I laugh and smile’,” former Wimbledon champion Becker told the Boris Petkovic podcast.
“This was a person who revealed himself and that’s why, for the first time, I’m a little worried about his mental health. He can play tennis, he’ll win tournaments, he’ll lose a few, but how is he doing personally?"
Zverev said he struggles to ‘find joy’ outside of tennis and made several concerning claims in a tough press conference. He said: "I've never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy, just lacking joy in everything that I do. It's not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis, as well.
"I don't think tennis is the problem right now for me. It's something else that I have to find within me at the moment. But something within me has to change, which is not necessarily on the tennis court. It's funny, I feel very alone out there at times. I struggle mentally. It's difficult to find joy outside the tennis court for me at the moment.
"It's not an excuse or anything. I think Arthur deserved to win. It's something I've felt for the past few months. Again, I just feel generally very, very alone and very lonely. I don't know. Just never felt that way before."
Zverev reached the final of the Australian Open earlier this year but was beaten in the quarter-final of the French Open by Novak Djokovic.
