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Hey, hey, this is Shaun with the GoTennis! Podcast powered by Signature Tennis.

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With that said, let's get started with 10 minutes of tennis.

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Question because Shaun was bringing this up and it'd be good to get your opinion.

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The problem at the moment is we're hearing a lot of people talking about mental health

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at the highest level, right?

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I mean, curious, Osaka, they're all sharing it.

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One of my closest friends was John Roddick, who was very close to Marty Fish.

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So I've heard all about Marty's background as well.

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Marty's was to me a little different.

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He had a real long background of it and needed to come out of the woodwork which he didn't

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until really late and then he had a lot of issues mentally.

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But there's that storyline right now in the professional level that everyone is struggling

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mentally.

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But on the other hand, on the social perspective and society or average player or amateur

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player, there's all these mental benefits from playing tennis.

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So there's this clouded gray cloud right now about mental health.

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But the normal player, the social player that plays every week doesn't get the level of

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mental health problems because you've just described it beautifully.

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That since from a little age, all you've known is hitting tennis balls.

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Most people have all these other things in their life and tennis is helping that stay on

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track because it gives them a mental release.

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Whereas for a tennis professional, they don't have anything else.

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You're going to what you said, the pros are talking about their mental health and it's a job.

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Like I said, you turn them pro.

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At some players, turn pro are winning.

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Wimbledon, Martina Hinges, who I worked with for 10 years, wins Wimbledon at 13.

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Something else at 15, 8 grand, slams by 18.

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You got kids.

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Okay.

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They're on the road 52 weeks a year.

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Now I remember asking Martina.

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She had no idea that she was on center court Wimbledon, right?

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She knew she was at Wimbledon at center court but she didn't know the magnitude until she

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was older.

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Now a mad, no, she's a rare case.

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Your general junior player makes a sacrifice in whether they know it or not turns pro at 10

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or 11.

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They move from whatever country to Florida for more opportunities.

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They're in their academy at 10, 11 years old.

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They've turned pro by, they've got an agent at 11 years old.

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So my opinion, they're pros.

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They don't even know it like Martina didn't.

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They're 17, 18 and they've been sponsored, they've been paid, their family's gone to

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the house, they're 17, they're on the road and they're not breaking the top 100 and they're

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the next year of Povah.

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They're supposed to be, you know, this agency made a bet on this person.

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Well, back to what you said originally.

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I would disagree with you that the recreational player doesn't have mental health issues

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on the court.

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When I go to a 40 or a 35, men's or ladies league, they're drinking after the match and sometimes

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during the match, they're self-medicating.

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The line calls are suspicious and why, why shouldn't matter.

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It's probably more mentally damaging in the recreational level because why shouldn't

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matter what level or where you're playing in the lineup if I'm a 35 player.

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I'm not going to play with her.

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She's in a singles player.

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I'm a double star.

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You are a beginner.

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Anybody that goes tennis knows exactly that situation happens.

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My ego has never been my amigo and I'm out here putting in the practice today two hours

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grinding the old drills cross court two up two back playing.

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It's bananas and it's so fun to be on for those that are not here.

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I'm on a couple of rolling girls clay courts at my friend's house in Austin, Texas and I have

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a love affair with the red clay and especially the rolling girls red clay.

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It's time I have a moment out here 56 years old.

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Anyway, it's called the human condition.

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To lose a match, you're going to sense some form of depression.

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It might not be chronic or acute, right?

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But if you lost a match or a point and you lose when some points in a set or two sets or

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lose some points, there is going to be you can see the body language.

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Why do we talk about you don't have a positive out of the body language?

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Well, just double fault it's 12 times in a row.

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I was supposed to have a good body language.

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And if you don't believe that there's mental health amongst all the humans, what does the

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car ride feel like when you win versus how you lose?

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It's a different vibe, man.

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It's quiet after a loss.

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You know what to say?

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Give them a little space to de-stress or decompress.

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But when we win, did you say it beforehand?

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Did you see that drop shot?

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Did you see that?

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So, they're at Wimbledon.

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If you've ever walked on center court, there's the Kipling speech and we treat those two

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imposter's the same.

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Try and defend the feet.

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I want to be a hollow bone.

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You know where I treat those, winning and losing the same.

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And if I can come from a safe place of neutrality, safe and protected, where if I win today and

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get this deal done in business or on the tennis court, it's the best thing that could have

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happened and if this person says no to this venture or this opportunity that I'm proposing,

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that's the best thing.

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And I am able to live this life one.

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Happy to happy.

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Moment to moment.

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Because I can't get to match point before I've played these 48-50 other points.

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You know, I get it was so cool about tennis.

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You should give me down 605-0 and win.

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Yeah.

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It was scary as you can be up 605-0, which I've done at the Orange Bowl back in the day

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and loose.

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That's a tough job home.

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It was the 12th.

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So we were dealing with a lot of different, you know.

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So Sean tells me all about this.

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We connect.

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What's it all about?

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We connect is a healthcare technology company.

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It's a mobile application with support and services around and mental health coaching,

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around mental health challenges and substance use disorder.

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And you know, we just came out of January.

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A lot of people were calling me and saying, I want to do dry January.

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And well, you know, it's crazy.

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Because that we're able to stick with it, are saying their work is improving, their tennis

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game is improving.

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And now they're at the end of February, now we're in March, I think, or end of February

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today.

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Yeah.

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They're like, holy cow.

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So whatever, there's the substance use disorder and, you know, I'm someone in long-term

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recovery from these challenges.

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After the French open and I had my first panic attack, actually, I...

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I had been saying that, but the truth is, my first panic attack would happen again,

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David Wheaton, when I was throwing rackets into the river over the fence and my dad carried

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me off the court.

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I had a meltdown and a blowout.

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And yeah, I am really blessed with the opportunity.

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I get emotional to be of service to the tennis world and the tennis community.

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Well, there you have it.

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And with that, we're out.

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See you next time.

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