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'Mental health is so important': Canadian tennis star Gabriela Dabrowski speaks up on the huge mental pressure of the Olympics

Dabrowski says she, like most athletes, has been there, too, battling through serious mental anxieties while constantly aiming to succeed in her chosen sport

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From her vantage point inside the Olympic village, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski fully recognizes and appreciates the words and actions of fellow tennis player Naomi Osaka and gymnast Simone Biles that have become a hot topic in Tokyo.

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Dabrowski says she, like most athletes, has been there, too, battling through serious mental anxieties while constantly aiming to succeed in her chosen sport.

Of course, while carving out a highly successful career primarily playing doubles, she’s often resigned to the side courts away from centre stage. She feels for Osaka and Biles, whose high profile often forces them to perform “inside a box”.

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On Wednesday, Dabrowski and rising young Canadian men’s star Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered a first-round loss to a Greek tandem in mixed doubles, the final opportunity for Canada to have an extended run on the Olympic tennis courts. Dabrowski and partner Sharon Fichman also lost in the first round of the women’s doubles, while Auger-Aliassime dropped his opening round singles match.

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Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriela Dabrowski of Team Canada play against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Team Greece and Maria Sakkari of Team Greece in their Mixed Doubles First Round match against on day five of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Tennis Park on July 28, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriela Dabrowski of Team Canada play against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Team Greece and Maria Sakkari of Team Greece in their Mixed Doubles First Round match against on day five of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Tennis Park on July 28, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Clive Brunskill /Getty Images

For all that, Dabrowski wouldn’t allow herself to put the weight of the world — or rather, the country — on her shoulders.

“You can’t really think like that, you try not to think of outside pressure,” she said while opening up in a telephone interview with Postmedia several hours after the mixed doubles defeat. “I don’t feel like I let down Canada. I did the best I could. I showed up to play in the Olympics, but I just wasn’t good enough today in my sport. We have an expression that pressure is privilege. That means that what we do matters. But outside people have no idea what goes on in an athlete’s life, day in and day out. I’ve done that (taken on outside pressure) in the past and it’s an awful feeling. We’re all human. We all make mistakes.”

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She has all the respect in the world for the athletes who have opened up about their issues, because it “sheds a light” on the struggles that so many of us face. At the most stressful moments in competition, Dabrowski says, it can be difficult to manage.

While she has only heard snippets about Biles’ decision to remove herself from the United States team in the team competition, she says the explanations and rationale sound familiar.

After a disappointing attempt in the first rotation of the women’s team event, the American was signified by an ‘R’ on the competitor list before the bars began, indicating she would not continue in the competition.
After a disappointing attempt in the first rotation of the women’s team event, the American was signified by an ‘R’ on the competitor list before the bars began, indicating she would not continue in the competition. Photo by LOIC VENANCE /AFP via Getty Images

She referenced former American tennis star Mardy Fish, who suffered cardiac arrhythmia in 2012, leading to a severe anxiety disorder that became so extreme he was afraid to leave his home at times.

“He talked about having panic attacks and that’s probably not all that rare,” Dabrowski said. “A lot of people might want to keep that private, when they’ve felt panic. I’m lucky I’ve never felt that before a match, but I can definitely relate. I don’t know exactly what (Biles) is going through.”

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Osaka, who was the face of the Olympics in Tokyo and lit the cauldron during the opening ceremonies, has put the issue of anxiety on front pages and at the top of newscasts. At the French Open tournament in June, she refused to take part in mandatory question and answer press conferences with the media, saying there was too much stress involved in those exercises.

Osaka was later fined $15,000 for that decision and withdrew from the tournament. She also opted out of playing in Wimbledon earlier this month, saying she wanted a break from the tour and to prepare herself for the Olympics. After losing in the third round at the Olympics, she acknowledged that all the pressures could have impacted her performance.

Naomi Osaka, sitting under an umbrella, wipes off sweat during a break in her match at Ariake Tennis Park on Sunday.
Naomi Osaka, sitting under an umbrella, wipes off sweat during a break in her match at Ariake Tennis Park on Sunday. Photo by Japan News-Yomiuri /Japan News-Yomiuri

Dabrowski is all for athletes using their positions to draw attention to a topic that has too often in the past been seen as a weakness.

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“I like that a light is being shined on that, on vulnerabilities. Sometimes, you are dealing with mental health or family issues. It can be an all encompassing things. As athletes, we’re privileged to have a platform and I really respect them for using that platform to highlight the issues. Mental health is so important, we should pay as much attention to it as our physical battles.”

It’s a tricky subject to tackle and there may be some trial and error to along the way, as the French Open controversy with Osaka illustrated.

“Personally, I don’t know if (Osaka) handled it the best way, if the French Open handled it the best way, if tennis handled it the best way,” said Dabrowski. “It’s difficult to talk about, but we should talk about the best way to manage this going forward, of how to improve athletes’ relationships with the media. I wouldn’t say I have all the right answers.”

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Mental health is so important, we should pay as much attention to it as our physical battles

Dabrowski, who has won the mixed doubles title at the 2017 French Open and the 2018 Australian Open and lost in the finals of women’s doubles at Wimbledon in 2019, has taken advantage of what the WTA tour has provided to its players.

“We’re fortunate to have mental health professionals, at no extra cost, on the tour,” she said. “I’ve talked with psychologists on the tour on a relatively regular basis. It’s a wonderful resource. We’re headed in the right direction, but at some moments in time, it’s amplified at things like the Grand Slam tournaments or the Olympics.”

Living a bubble life through COVID-19 has added another layer to everything and the impact of social media has been profound.

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“We need to show each other more compassion, no matter what’s going on,” she said. “If people want to talk about it, we need to talk about it and not have people pointing fingers. We don’t need retaliation. We’re all going through something.”

On the court, Dabrowski is frustrated at not being able to get past the first round at the Olympics — “we had some chances and I’m disappointed I didn’t volley better” — but she’ll be leaving Tokyo on Friday to resume the busy life of a tour professional. Next up is a tournament in San Jose, followed by the National Bank Open in Montreal, a tournament stop in Cincinnati and then the U.S. Open in New York.

Somewhere in there, she’s hoping there’s time for a pitstop at home in Ottawa.

“Hopefully,” she said. “I will make every effort. I miss my parents. I miss my cats. I miss my home. I haven’t been home since November, 2019.”

kwarren@postmedia.com

twitter.com/Citizenkwarren

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