On Wednesday Mardy Fish announced via Twitter he will be retiring from professional tennis after the U.S. Open. Fish has publicly discussed his struggles with severe anxiety over the last few years, which has kept him from being able to compete.
At the 2012 US Open Fish was the 23rd seed he made it to the fourth round before withdrawing from his match against top seed Roger Federer. Fish admitted that was the lowest point for him. He tried to get on a flight back to Los Angeles but his anxiety got so bad his wife got up and told him we need to get off this flight.
Fish and his wife Stacey ended up staying in New York for five extra days before taking a private jet back home. After that Fish admitted he did not leave his house for three months because he was afraid.
Fish did play in Winston Salem in 2013 but ended up retiring from his third round match citing heat stroke. He did not pick up a racket again until earlier this year where he played doubles in the Dallas Challenger and played both singles and doubles at Indian Wells.
At the Dallas Challenger he played with doubles veteran Mark Knowles. They won their first round match before falling in straight sets in the second round. Fish played his first singles match in 18 months at this year’s Indian Wells. He pushed fellow American Ryan Harrison to three sets before ultimately falling just short. Fish also played doubles Grigor Dimitrov but they were also unable to get out of the first round.
Fish has made it to the quarterfinals at every Grand Slam except the French Open where his best result was the third round. He has won six titles and reached a career high ranking of No. 7 in the world on August 15, 2011. He spent over 40 weeks in the top ten from 2011-2012.
He has always been a fan favorite in the states and has always been widely respected by other players on tour. Since he opened up in a 2014 interview with USA Today about his anxiety disorder he has become more then just a tennis professional, he has become a spokesperson for a disorder that is not talked about enough.
Fish is not the only professional athlete to suffer from severe anxiety. Royce White who was drafted by the Houston Rockets had a well-documented history of suffering from anxiety, which manifested in to a fear of flying. The Rockets who were aware of his anxiety disorder tried to work with White to find a solution but ultimately White never played a game for the Rockets.
Fish has poured himself in to golf and fatherhood while he has been off the tour. He considers golf as a savior and has admitted he would love to play at the U.S. Open in both golf and tennis. He has been playing some golf mini-tours but has yet to make a cut.
The American has also been doing good work outside of sports. He is a Pro Ambassador for Athlete Ally, which is a nonprofit organization on ending homophobia and transphobia in sports. Andy Roddick and Fish were the first male tennis players to join Athlete Ally in 2013. Fish has been quoted as saying everybody deserves at a shot at playing sports and it shouldn’t matter what the person’s sexual orientation.
Fish also started the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation which works with the School District of Indian river Country to provide children opportunities to partake in fitness, nutritional and enrichment programs to coach them to live healthy and productive lives.
Roddick and Fish tried to get a wildcard in to last year’s U.S. Open doubles with but was denied because Roddick was not in compliance with the ATP’s drug testing protocols. Fish had told USA Today that “it would have been a nice way to stop”. Fish will now have a chance to go out on his own terms.
Fish will play in Atlanta and Cincinnati before he wraps up his career in New York City. While he might not have the legacy of some of the other Americans that ended their careers at the U.S. Open expect the crowd to get behind what should be an emotional ride.
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