“The day before my match at Wimbledon, I found myself on a bench, in the house I was renting, in the rain listening to music and wondering what I was doing there. I realized that around me, many athletes were experiencing the same thing”. This is what Ysaline Bonaventure tells us, interviewed by Serge Vermeiren, about her feelings when putting her career on hold.
A decision taken on July 5. Out at Wimbledon, the Belgian player can’t take it anymore. In the midst of depression, she needs to completely disconnect, to leave, even for a few weeks, the world of tennis in which she has been playing for years. It took him 4 months to recover and regain motivation. To forget doubts and worries, Ysaline Bonaventure surrounded herself and enjoyed life. Travel, television consulting, return to the basketball courts, growing pears: she discovered new pleasures. “It allowed me to realize the daily life of everyone. It did me a lot of good, I realized that the life I had was not as rotten as I could have imagined. tell me”, she confirms to us.
But everything changed this fall. Ysaline Bonaventure is hungry for tennis again. She now wants to transform her past suffering into strength, to do better in 2024 and recover from this troubled period. At the end of October, Ysaline found her way back to tennis courts and sports halls. Depression allowed him to freeze his world ranking for 6 months. As a result, she can participate in the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open at the beginning of January. But to hope to get there, you have to get back into physical condition.
The first training sessions stunned her, she realized that she was no longer up to par. “It’s as if we’ve never done sport. It’s a little challenging, we lose it quickly, but we also recover it very quickly”, explains Ysaline Bonaventure. The sensations returned over the hours. It must be said that the program is dense, with 15 hours of gym time per week, to work on endurance, cardio and bodybuilding.
Today, Ysaline feels the positive effects of her preparation. It remains to be seen how to manage the first tournament matches. One thing is certain: at 29, the player says she wants to take another look at her career. “I was always in conflict, because I didn’t feel good on the pitch. I had the impression that everyone was against me. This break allowed me to take a step back, I’m much more serene, I put much less pressure on myself”she confirms to us.
And if he has one sporting dream left to achieve, it is to participate in the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
Ysaline Bonaventure
Instant Sport
2023-12-30 05:00:00
#mental #hell #Australian #Open #Ysaline #Bonaventure #tells #incredible #fight #burnout
