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Emil Ruusuvuori candidly opened up about his struggles with 'mental challenges', both on and off the court, in an emotional message for tennis fans. The Finn delved into some of the matches where he suffered panic attacks, and also how he couldn't even remember what went down in those matches.
Ruusuvuori had one of the best seasons of his tennis career last year, reaching the Hong Kong Open final, recording the 100th win of his career, and also making his first third-round appearance at a Grand Slam. However, after his second-round exit at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, the 26-year-old pulled out of the Canadian Open and the US Open and surprisingly ended his season.
The Finn made his return at the Tenerife Challenger in February this year and has been trying to steadily make his return to where he was. In his latest post on Instagram, which he shared on May 6, Emil Ruusuvuori revealed the reason behind his hiatus from tennis.
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"When I embarked on my comeback, I decided not to tell the public everything about my experience. We all have our own challenges, but I feel I need to share some thoughts on events and the occasional rad athlete's daily life, so I can continue my story more freely, without pretending," he said.
He chronicled some of his panic attack episodes, which happened during the third-round match against Giovannni Mpetshi Perricard at Wimbledon 2024 and also recently during his campaigns at the Challenger Events in South Korea.
The Finn's struggles with 'recurring and worsening' panic attacks, on and off the court, led him to take a 6-month break from tennis after the Mubadala Citi DC Open, during the majority of which, he didn't play tennis.
"I had my first panic attacks four years ago already. I can hardly remember anything about the last match of Wimbledon last summer, and the scenes are still coming - the last ones I experienced on my trip to South Korea."
"Last year, I suffered from recurring and worsening panic attacks, and other mental challenges both on and off the field. This is why I took a break for six months from competing. I haven't touched a tennis club in 4.5 months - I simply couldn't go on the court."
Emil Ruusuvuori then talked about the purpose behind laying his feelings bare.
"I hope that the message gets across and that I can emphasize the importance of taking care of your mental well-being" - Emil Ruusuvuori
Continuing his thoughts, Emil Ruusuvuori said he just wanted to make people understand what his daily life looked like with the help of the video he posted. He also wanted to help them understand the importance of mental well-being.
"Sometimes it's hard to put into words the thoughts shared in the video. However, I tried to give a small touch to what the everyday life has looked like in part. I hope that the message gets across and that I can emphasize the importance of taking care of your mental well-being. I hope after this I can focus even better on my life and tennis career. Emil," read his caption.
Emil Ruusuvuori joins a long list of tennis stars who have bravely spoken about their mental health struggles publicly, including Naomi Osaka, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz, and others.
