The former world No 7 is giving a new face and voice to the millions who struggle with anxiety disorders.
The toughest battles of Mardy Fish’s tennis career have been at far closer range: inside himself.
Fish, 33, spent time as the highest-ranked American man during a career which took him as high as No7 in the ATP rankings in 2011. He worked tirelessly on his fitness during his late-career rise, transforming his diet and body to become lighter and more agile. But his career resurgence derailed because of a heart problem (he was diagnosed with cardiac Arrhythmia and he underwent cardiac ablation) for that transformed into a more insidious psychological impediment. The panic anxiety attacks that followed proved the most difficult to control, as they ultimately forced him off the tour.
Fish’s struggles extended far off the court. After withdrawing from the 2012 US Open, a panic-struck Fish broke down as his flight home pulled away from the terminal, and his wife Stacey had to ask the crew to return to the gate so he could get off. Once home on a chartered jet, Fish went long stretches without ever leaving his home.
Slowly, Fish managed to gain more control of his life. Last year, he spent time playing semi-pro golf, which he says proved a “coping mechanism”.
He is still on anti-anxiety medication and remains in therapy. He usually wears a heart rate monitor when he practices. But he has moved forward. He can sleep alone. He flew cross-country alone.
But simply by returning to tennis, Fish has already given a new face and voice to the millions who struggle with similar issues, demonstrating that mental illness is in no way a weakness.
“It can be beaten,” Fish told the New York Times earlier this week. “It can be conquered. I’m going to try and show people that it’s possible at the highest level.”
Picture credit : NYTimes article
