Alcohol and depression ruined my tennis career – I started to have a darker side and only slept one hour a night
FRENCH tennis star Lucas Pouille has bravely opened up on his battle with drinking and depression.
The 29-year-old former world No10 made the quarter-finals of Wimbledon and the US Open in 2016 at just 22-years-old.
He reached a career high ranking of world No10 in 2018 and made the Australian Open semi-finals in 2019 before losing to Novak Djokovic.
But injuries hampered what was a hugely promising career.
Pouille is now ranked No459 in the world, and has detailed his battle with drinking and depression.
He suffered a broken rib last summer and spent time in hospital in Nice, which saw him hit a low point.
Pouille admitted that things got so bad he was only managing to sleep for one hour a night.
After playing in the Ilkley Trophy in the UK last June, Pouille had to take a break from the game.
He told L’Equipe: “I started to have a darker side and go into a depression that led me, after Roland-Garros, in England, to sleep only one hour a night and drink alone.
“It was impossible to close my eyes. I was all alone with Felix (Mantilla, his coach at the time) and I would go back to my room and look at the ceiling. I was sinking into a creepy thing. I stood up with my eyes blown up.
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“Every morning, Felix asked me: ‘Don’t you sleep?’ – ‘Yes, yes, I have allergies, carpet, pollen, grass…’ I was lying to him.
“I locked myself in, I didn’t tell anyone.”
Pouille continued: “I was in a bad phase. And I made the decision to say stop.”
He then added: “For my mental health, I had to stop.”
After spending some time away from the court, Pouille has returned to the Challenger Tour.
Having helped France to Davis Cup glory in 2017, he is now targeting a spot at the 2024 Olympic Games on home soil.
He said on playing at the Olympics: “I think about it every day. This is the only event in which I have not participated.
“Doing the Games in Paris is the experience of a lifetime. I want to try.
“If I get there, that’s great and if I don’t, I won’t have any regrets because I would have done everything for it.”