Wimbledon 2019: Katie Swan happy to help others after opening up about mental health

Katie Swan has been a popular woman at Wimbledon after opening up about her mental health difficulties.

After losing in the final round of qualifying at the French Open, the British No 5 wrote a heartfelt Twitter post in which she talked about her decision to see a psychologist having struggled with her confidence and feelings of self worth.

Swan immediately turned her phone off for the journey back to London and was pleasantly surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reaction when she switched it back on.

And the most pleasing aspect for the 20-year-old has been the impact her words have had on others within and outside tennis.

“I’ve had some players come up to me and talk to me about it,” she said.

“At the time it was a lot of responses I got, more than I could have hoped for. And everything was positive, I didn’t have one negative comment.

“Before I posted on social media I already felt that relief because I had already got the help that I needed.

“But when I decided to post that was more for me to share my experience because it was so positive and it helped me so much in such a short time so I felt that if that could help even one person then it would be worth it, and it looks like it has helped more than just one.

“People who are not tennis players have also reached out to me. I’ve had people say they showed their friend and it really helped them so every time I hear someone say that about it, it makes me really happy that I was able to have an impact on them.”

Swan’s on-court feelings were compounded by a difficult time off court, including a serious bout of malaria last autumn for her boyfriend, fellow British player Joel Cannell.

The 21-year-old picked up the life-threatening illness while playing a tournament in Nigeria, and Swan said: “It was really scary.

“I was actually in China when I found out that he had it and he was taken straight into hospital and for a few days it was really on edge because he was diagnosed with the worst strain, which can be fatal if you don’t catch it early enough.

“He’s much better, he’s still recovering. His malaria can take up to a year to fully recover physically. But he’s here, he’s in good spirits.”

This will be the first tournament where Cannell has supported Swan in person since his illness, and Swan is hoping to build on her success last year, when she claimed the best victory of her career by defeating Irina Camelia Begu in the first round.

“It was my first grand slam win last year so I think I can bring that experience and happy memories back this year,” she said ahead of a first-round clash with German Laura Siegemund on Tuesday.

“Every match here is going to be tough but I feel like I’m playing really well at the moment, I’ve had a lot of tough matches against good opponents but I’m feeling good about my game and I definitely feel I can do well here.”

PA