"It's just so hard to understand how bad it is" - Former American pro Mardy Fish opens up on the severity of mental health struggles in tennis

The topic of mental health awareness has been a sensitive one, especially in the world of sports. However, former World No.7 Mardy Fish took some time to share his thoughts on the issue, having dealt with a few struggles himself.

The Minnesota native enjoyed a successful career on the ATP Tour, winning six singles titles. Furthermore, Fish won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games, before eventually retiring in 2015 after dealing with bouts of anxiety during his career.

In an appearance on the Served podcast with Andy Roddick, the 43-year old gave a powerful message to his listeners. Fish stressed the importance of acknowledging you are not okay, and urged people to get educated on the topic of mental health in order to avoid treating it as a stigma.

"The education of having people understand that the most important things are being vulnerable with loved ones, having a support system and then somehow figuring out a way" began Fish. "For me it was medication or to try to develop a tool to trick your mind to go into different places.
"It's a lonely thing because you sort of feel like, no one can see it and I'm not limping around or you can't see that I have a broken arm. It's in my mind or it's in my brain, so it's just so hard to understand how bad it is."