"No athlete is going to talk about the vulnerabilities because that is seen as a weakness" - Rennae Stubbs on tennis players' mental health struggles

Rennae Stubbs recently discussed mental health struggles in tennis as a guest on a television show.

Stubbs spoke to MSNBC's Nicole Wallace on Deadline: White House's special report on America's mental health emergency. The former doubles World No. 1 said that as a former player and now a coach, she has witnessed how athletes are hesitant to openly speak about their mental troubles because they see it as a form of weakness.

"Everybody has something and often, those are things you don't talk about or you don't hear about. And no athlete is going to talk about the vulnerabilities because that is seen as a weakness," said Rennae Stubbs.

Stubbs honored the positive impact of Olympian skier Lindsay Vonn's openness about her mental health and said that it is important that conversations about mental well-being continue because it is a widespread issue.

"Just like men don't talk about these problems because they see it as a weakness. So it's super important that everybody keeps talking about it. And it is an issue," said Rennae Stubbs.

Given that Stubbs has been involved in tennis since debuting in doubles in an ITF event in Sydney in 1986 and continues to be associated with the sport as a coach and commentator, the Aussie has personally seen the struggles tennis players face. She added that physical health problems have been talked about more often than the mental health ones.

"Being on the tennis tour as long as I was, I saw a lot of people really struggling. We talk about the physical injuries, but not a lot talk about the mental side of the sport," said Rennae Stubbs.

Rennae Stubbs: People think that athletes are famous and rich so they should be happy, but it's not the case

Rennae Stubbs plays a backhand during the legends doubles match in the 2015 Australian Open.

Rennae Stubbs helped shed light on an athlete's internal struggles, saying that their outward appearance, which may exhibit happiness, or even their success, should not be the benchmark for what they are going through mentally.

Citing Emma Raducanu, who suffered a panic attack during her Wimbledon debut run last year, and Naomi Osaka, who has spoken publicly about her depression and anxiety, Stubbs said that there are thousands more who have the same struggles and that popularity and money will not spare them from it.

"There are thousands of Naomis in the sporting world and the business, financial and TV world that deals with these things when they go home and the light shuts off. People think that they are famous and rich, and they should be happy. It's not the case," said Rennae Stubbs in the same interview on MSNBC.

Stubbs added that 19-year-old Raducanu and 25-year-old Osaka "are kids" and while people think that they "should be fine," they deal with a lot of stress, such as performing in front of fans and for their sponsors, and supporting their families.

"These are kids. They're 19, 20, 21-year-olds... They have to go on performing for thousands of people, for their sponsors; they got families that they are supporting. There's lots of stresses on their shoulders. OK, yes, they've got all the money in the world, but, really, that doesn't make you happy," said Rennae Stubbs.