Six-time Grand Slam doubles champion Joe Salisbury has decided to briefly put his tennis career on pause and address the anxiety he has been dealing with for years now.
Since impressively winning his maiden doubles title at the 2020 Australian Open, Salisbury has been one of the best players in the competition, winning three more Grand Slams in men's dubs and two Majors in mixed dubs. But while the British tennis star made six doubles finals this year with his partner Neal Skupski, they still went without winning a single title. Most notably, the British duo suffered Grand Slam final losses at the French Open and the US Open, before also finishing as runners-up at this past ATP Finals.
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Now, Salisbury - who is currently the 10th-ranked player in the competition -reveals there has been something that has negatively impacted him this year.
"I've had heart palpitations, a feeling of your heart beating all around your body. You feel like your body is almost a bit shaky, almost like your whole body is vibrating a little bit," the 33-year-old told BBC Tennis.
Salisbury: The anxiety made me feel sick to stomach and impacted by sleeping and eating habits
It's been tough to deal with at times and it's made me not want to be playing and competing at times throughout the year. It's definitely a lot in the stomach - you feel sick to your stomach. I've been struggling to sleep and then, because of the feeling in the stomach, struggling to eat well, eat enough. It's almost like a feeling of dread - that something bad is going to happen," the former doubles world No. 1 explained.
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In the same interview, Salisbury revealed to the BBC that he will be out of action until at least April. Also, the six-time Grand Slam doubles champion shared that he plans to give himself some quality time off with his girlfriend and use the upcoming period to travel the world but also enjoy some stuff at home.
When Salisbury reached the doubles world No. 1 ranking in 2022, he became only the second British man to achieve the feat.
