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my symptoms—frankly because
the press and the tournament
did not believe me. I do not wish
that on anyone and hope that we
can enact measures to protect
athletes, especially the fragile
ones. I also do not want to have
to engage in a scrutiny of my per-
sonal medical history ever again.
So I ask the press for some level
of privacy and empathy next
time we meet.
There can be moments for
any of us where we are deal-
ing with issues behind the
scenes. Each of us as humans
is going through something
on some level. I have numer-
ous suggestions to off er the
tennis hierarchy, but my No. 1
suggestion would be to allow
a small number of “sick days”
per year where you are excused
from your press commitmentswithout having to disclose your
personal reasons. I believe this
would bring sport in line with
the rest of society.
Finally, I want to thank
every one who supported me.
There are too many to name,
but I want to start with my fam-
ily and friends, who have been
amazing. There is nothing more
important than those relation-
ships. I also want to thank
those in the public eye who
have supported, encouraged
and off ered such kind words.
Michelle Obama, Michael
Phelps, Steph Curry, Novak
Djokovic, Meghan Markle, to
name a few. Furthermore, I am
eternally grateful to all my part-
ners. Although I am not sur-
prised as I purposefully chose
brand partners that are liberal,
empathetic and progressive, I
am still tremendously thankful.AFTER TAKING the past few
weeks to recharge and spend
time with my loved ones, I have
had the time to refl ect, but also
to look forward. I could not be
more excited to play in Tokyo.
An Olympic Games itself is spe-
cial, but to have the opportunity
to play in front of the Japanese
fans is a dream come true.
I hope I can make them proud.
Believe it or not, I am natu-
rally introverted and do not
court the spotlight. I always try
to push myself to speak up for
what I believe to be right, but
that often comes at a cost of
great anxiety. I feel uncomfort-
able being the spokesperson or
face of athlete mental health
as it’s still so new to me and I
don’t have all the answers. I do
hope that people can relate and
under stand it’s O.K. to not be
O.K., and it’s O.K. to talk about
it. There are people who can
help, and there is usually light
at the end of any tunnel.
Michael Phelps told me that
by speaking up I may have saved
a life. If that’s true, then it was
all worth it.