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“There were only 3 players I could lose” – Robin Soderling opens up to the fight against anxiety due to expectations

Former Swedish tennis player Robin Soderling was one of the big names in tennis in 2009-10. He reached 2 Grand Slam finals and was the first player to beat Rafael Nadal at the French Open. Unfortunately, he retired very early after contracting mononucleosis, but it wasn’t the only health problem he had.

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Robin Soderling on his mental health

In a recent interview with Sveriges Radio cited by Ubitennis, Robin Soderling talked about the mental health problems he had had. He said:

I had constant anxiety, it nibbled inside me. I sat in the apartment and looked expressionless, the slightest noise made me panic. When a letter fell on the mat, I panicked so much that it fell to the ground. The phone rang, trembling with fear. “

The Swede said that these problems came after his victory over Rafael Nadal in 2009. He felt that expectations were very high as he said: “There were only three players that I could lose, the rest I had to beat them if I felt bad, a failure, a loser. “

Later in the interview, he talked about mental health problems that started shortly after the 2011 Swedish Open when he hadn’t decided whether to retire. He said:

“I was panicked, I started to cry, I was crying and crying. I went back to the hotel and threw myself on the bed, every time I thought about going on the pitch, I panicked. For the first time, I felt that, no matter how much I wanted, I couldn’t, even if they had put a gun in my temple. “

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Message for the other players

Robin Soderling believes that even today it is very rare for an athlete to open up about his mental health problems and that is why he has come forward. He continued to send a message to all the athletes as he said,

To those who are dedicated to sports and their entire environment, I tell them to train hard and take it very easily. From here I tell them to play sports because they feel comfortable doing it and not because of the pressure. “

Everyone would be happy to see that Robin has overcome his mental health problems and will hopefully never have to face these problems again.

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