Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka has been back in tournament tennis for eight months since taking a 16-month mental health break. (Photo by Carine06. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

For the first time since 2022, Naomi Osaka will be playing in the U.S. Open. The onetime No. 1 female tennis player in the world, Osaka walked away from the sport due to mental health issues. 

She might be the most famous female tennis star to hit an emotional wall, but she certainly wasn’t the first. And even though Osaka went public with her struggles, she’s not been the last player to announce that they simply couldn’t take it any longer and were in need of a mental health break from the tennis court.

So while you are checking out the best U.S. Open tennis bets for the upcoming fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the women’s tennis season, maybe take a moment to ponder the toll that the elite level of competition is taking upon the world’s best players. And perhaps, stop to ponder why so many female players are being impacted in this manner.

Women’s Players Start Out Younger

It’s rare to see a teenager playing at the top level of men’s tennis, the ATP Tour. However, on the women’s tour, the WTA, the occurrence is commonplace. 

Not only that, success at a young age is also commonplace in women’s tennis. Coco Gauff, the top-ranked American player and the reigning U.S. Open women’s singles champion, is 20 years old. She was playing tournament tennis at the age of 15 and is persistently under the watchful eye of scrutiny.

“She’s getting constant attention, all the time, and that’s a lot to deal with,” fellow American player Emma Navarro told Yahoo Sports.

Jennifer Capriati was playing on the women’s tour at the age of 14. Martina Hingis was winning Grand Slam tournaments by the time she was 16. 

The reality is that these players are totally devoted to the tennis court at a much younger age. Families are often uprooted in the pursuit of the tennis dream. Homeschooling becomes the norm. And they play in an individual sport without teammates to rely upon. Success or failure is carried entirely on their shoulders.

That’s a lot of pressure for a growing child to be dealing with before they’ve fully matured into an adult woman. Is it any wonder that some of them reach a breaking point?

Early Signs Of Trouble

American Coco Gauff won the U.S. Open women’s singles title in 2023 at the age of 19 (Photo by All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

Long before top players like Osaka and Ashleigh Barty, another former world No. 1, were exiting the tennis stage, there was plenty of evidence that there was an ongoing problem in the game.

Capriati won three Grand Slam titles, an Olympic gold medal and earned the world No. 1 ranking. She was just 15 when she beat Martina Navratilova, arguably the greatest women’s tennis player of all-time.

From the outside it seemed as though she was living the dream. Inside Capriati, however, there were demons at work. On the tennis court, it all unraveled for Capriati at the 1993 U.S. Open, when she was ousted in the first round by Leila Meskhi.

“I started out okay, but at the end of the match I couldn’t wait to get off the court,” Capriati told the New York Times not long after that loss. “Totally, mentally, I just lost it…and obviously it goes deeper than that one match. 

“I really was not happy with myself, my tennis, my life, my parents, my coaches, my friends. . . . I spent a week in bed in darkness after that, just hating everything. 

“When I looked in my mirror, I actually saw this distorted image: I was so ugly and so fat, I just wanted to kill myself, really.”

Shortly after that U.S. Open loss, Capriati took a 14-month leave from competitive tennis. During that down time, she was arrested in possession of marijuana and for shoplifting.

Andrea Jaeger was another who turned pro at 14, was No. 2 in the world by 16 and played a Grand Slam final at 18. Within a year of that appearance, her career was over.

“My story was that she couldn’t handle the pressure… I could play in a tornado and still win a match,” she told the Independent. “I never had a problem with pressure. I had a problem trying to keep myself safe and sane at the same time.”

Barty Walked Away Twice

On two different occasions, Barty left tennis behind for the betterment of her well-being. The second time came in 2021 when she reigned as the world’s No. 1 player.

She has no plans to ever come back as a tournament player. In fact, these days, she hardly ever picks up a tennis racket.

“I don’t know how much I can be with saying never (to returning),” the Aussie told Australia’s nine.com.au. “I honestly love my life.

“I had such a full career, such an amazing journey, this is just the next chapter of my life.”

Can Osaka Regain Her Game?

Although she’s been back on the court, Osaka isn’t anywhere near the player she once was. The Japanese player is ranked No. 85 in the world.

“My biggest issue is that I don’t feel like I’m in my body,” Osaka posted on her Instagram account. “It’s a strange feeling, missing balls I shouldn’t miss, hitting balls softer than I remember I used to. I try to tell myself: ‘It’s fine, you’re doing great. Just get through this one and keep pushing,’ mentally it’s really draining though.”

“Internally, I hear myself screaming: ‘What the hell is happening?!’

Anisimova Latest To Walk Away

American player Amanda Anisimova, at one point placed as high as No 23 in the WTA rankings, took a break from tennis in the spring of 2023.

“I’ve really been struggling with my mental health and burnout since the summer of 2022,” Anisimova wrote on Instagram. “It’s become unbearable being at tennis tournaments. At this point, my priority is my mental well-being and taking a break for some time. I’ve worked as hard as I could to push through it.

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