20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer believes there needs to be a rethink regarding how the rising stars of tennis are supported on the Tour.
The former world No.1 has called for what he describes as the ‘press situation’ to be reconsidered in the wake of some tennis players opening up about their mental health. Earlier this year at the French Open Naomi Osaka revealed that she has been suffering from depression and social anxiety. Osaka opted to skip press conferences during the French Open but it wasn’t until after the tournament she spoke about the reason why she did so. Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu’s run to the fourth round at Wimbledon ended up with her withdrawing from the Grand Slam due to ‘breathing difficulties’ which was partly due to the unfamiliar situation she was in.
40-year-old Federer, who has been one of the biggest names in the sport for well over a decade, says the stress his younger peers experience on the Tour is partly due to social media. Something he said wasn’t as prevalent when he was younger.
“It hurts when you see what happens and when they don’t feel well. The stress is so great. And I think a lot has to be down to social media: the first ten years of my life there was no social media, maybe I had just a website, then the next ten years social media was everywhere,” Federer told GQ magazine.
As for how players are treated by the media, the Swiss Maestro has called for a revamp of the protocols with all parties sitting together for discussions. Although he didn’t outline what changes he would make. In Grand Slams players are usually required to conduct press conferences following their matches and could be fined for not doing so.
“In regards to this (social media), the press situation does need to be reconsidered. I think I’m one of the athletes who’s done the most press – ever! And I agree that it’s always the same,” he said.
“I think players, the tournaments, journalists, we need to sit down together in a room and go, “OK, what would work for you and what works for us… We need a revolution. Or at least an evolution of where we are today.’
“I think we do need to help, coach and mentor the younger generation more. I can’t imagine going through the beginning of my career with social media; I have no clue how I would have handled it.”
In recent years one common problem faced by players is a rise in social media abuse. During the US Open Shelby Rogers said she was expecting to receive ‘death threats’ following her loss to Raducanu and Sloane Stephens has been targeted by racist abuse. Meanwhile, during his country’s Davis Cup tie against Belarus Diego Schwartzman was targeted by trolls following a shock loss.
“For every ten nice comments there’s always one negative comment and, of course, that is the one you focus on,” Federer commented. “It’s a horrible situation. Even when I am feeling down I know I need to act a certain way in front of the world’s press. We need to remember that tennis players are athletes and professionals, but we are also human too.”
Federer is currently sidelined from the Tour due to a right knee injury which also troubled him throughout 2020. So far in his career he has won 103 ATP titles, spent 310 weeks as world No.1 and has earned more than $130M in prize money. According to Forbes Magazine, he was the seventh highest paid athlete in the world between May 2020 and May 2021.
Despite the numerous records he has broken and reaching the milestone age of 40, there are still no signs that Federer has any plans to retire from the sport in the near future.
“When, like any athlete, you will just know when the time is right. I am not going to be the one that’s just going to stick around because I want to stick around. You know, I still want to play exhibitions down the road and have fun and go to markets in places I’ve never been before. The fans mean a lot to me, but I do not want to abuse my body. I still want to run around with my kids and ski… So I think you just know,” he concluded.
