Tennis-Grand Slam doubles champion Salisbury to take break over anxiety

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LONDON (Reuters) -Four-time men’s doubles Grand Slam champion Joe Salisbury says he is taking a break from tennis because of anxiety issues.

The 33-year-old British player, a former doubles world number one, said he was unlikely to return before April after being left with a “feeling of dread” while on Tour.

“I’ve had heart palpitations, a feeling of your heart beating all around your body,” Salisbury told the BBC.

“You feel like your body is almost a bit shaky, almost like your whole body is vibrating a little bit.”

Salisbury, who has won three U.S. Open men’s doubles titles and topped the rankings in 2022, said he would take a safari in Kenya and enjoy a skiing trip while away from tennis.

“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,” he said. “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.

“It’s almost like a feeling of dread — that something bad is going to happen.”

Salisbury, currently ranked 10th, played the whole of this season with fellow Briton Neal Skupski and was runner-up at the French Open, U.S. Open and last week’s ATP Finals in Turin.

“I feel like I’ve dealt with it well and managed to get myself into a good enough state on court to perform well in most of the matches that I have played,” he said.

“But I think it’s taken an extra toll emotionally and mentally to do that. It’s meant that it’s just not been enjoyable being at a lot of the tournaments that I’ve played.”

Skupski will team up with American Christian Harrison from January.

(Reporting by Martyn HermanEditing by Toby Davis)