Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic says he intends to continue undergoing therapy beyond his playing career after speaking publicly about his mental health issues for the first time.
Lajovic, who recently defeated Novak Djokovic en route to winning his second ATP title at the Srpska Open, revealed to Clay Magazine that he had been coping with a variety of issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Describing that period of his life as a ‘bad place,’ the 32-year-old suffered from a combination of depression, anxiety and OCD. The problems happened at a time when tennis was getting back on its feet after being suspended due to the pandemic. Various restrictions were in place and before the Australian Open players even had to enter into quarantine before being allowed to play. Meanwhile, other events were held behind closed doors.
“When back on tour, I felt in conflict with myself because we started playing again without the fans, with all the protocols of travelling, the tests, we had to stay in the rooms and the tennis club. I was feeling that we were playing tennis while people were still suffering around the world,” Lajovic said.
“So, why are we playing? Just to keep the business going? I got into a loop of being mentally in a bad place. I felt depressed and not being able to enjoy what I do. I enjoy tennis, but all of these things happening around me were making me not feel good about doing my job.”
The timing of the Tour suspension in May 2020 occurred as Lajovic was on the verge of breaking into the world’s top 20. When he returned to action a few weeks later, he won only five out of the next 15 matches played. Then in 2021, he compiled a win-loss of 18-28 before briefly exiting the world’s top 100 the following year.
Lajovic said his mental struggles lasted a year and he didn’t manage to regain his passion to play until 2022. It is an ongoing battle but one he is winning.
“It took me a while to get out of this bubble,” he admits. “When the world came back to normal, I started to feel better. Over 2022 I found this new motivation again. But last year was the worst year of my career, professionally.’
“I had a different set of problems in my private life, also. Now I’m finally starting to get back on my feet again, I’m working really hard every day, physically and mentally. I’m trying to do everything I can to get back to the place I was.”
More recently, the 32-year-old has sought support from a psychologist which he views as both ‘therapy and training.’ Historically, few male players have spoken publicly about their mental health on the Tour. Australian tennis stars Nick Kyrgios and Thanassi Kokkinakis have both previously spoken out about their personal experiences.
“I started a couple of months ago because I’ve been dealing with a lot lately, like anxiety, OCD, and depressing feelings. That influenced me a lot when I was on the court. In tennis you need to fix all the things to perform well. I’m trying to improve myself.” Lajovic explained.
“It is something I want to do until the end of my life regardless of if I’m playing tennis or not. It is so important, especially after all the things the world has gone through. First, you need to accept this kind of thing, and then you can get on a journey to fixing them. I’m on that journey now.” He added.
Admitting that he should have started therapy ‘many years ago,’ Lajovic isn’t ready to speak publicly about what specific events in his personal life contributed towards his mental health issues. Although he hopes speaking about his experience will help others in the sport.
“If I feel my personal case can help at least one person, I should speak about it. I want to show to people that there are always solutions. It is gonna be a big part of myself in the future because I’m someone who is very much internal, I overthink a lot, so sometimes I could produce anxiety for things that haven’t happened yet. Not productive in tennis, not in life in general.” He concluded.
Lajovic returns to action on Thursday at the Madrid Masters where he will play Jason Kubler in the first round.
