In 1985, a seventeen-year-old Boris Becker burst onto the global stage, becoming the youngest man ever to triumph in the Wimbledon singles final. This landmark victory marked the beginning of a stellar career that would see him capture two more Wimbledon titles and a total of forty-nine singles and fifteen doubles crowns, solidifying his status as one of the twentieth century’s most iconic tennis players. However, behind the accolades, the pressures of elite tennis took a significant toll. As revealed in his autobiography, “The Player: The Autobiography,” and in a 2003 interview, Becker battled depression and relied on sleeping tablets and hard liquor to cope with sleepless nights during his sporting prime, even admitting the need to reduce his tournament schedule to recover.
Two decades later, Becker further opened up about his mental health struggles, including his fight for survival during his imprisonment following his 2017 bankruptcy case. Now, Becker views mental well-being as the “biggest challenge” facing younger players and believes his own experiences can offer valuable lessons.
Four days ago, following a string of sold-out shows in Hong Kong, Chris Martin shared a candid video on Instagram. Seated by Victoria Harbour, he spoke openly about his personal journey with depression. “Hi, this is Chris from the band Coldplay. We’re in Hong Kong…I’ve noticed that some people lately, including myself, are struggling a little bit with depression.”
Later on, he also shared “some things that are helping me on tour and in life in general.” It included things like a 12-minute daily routine of free-form writing, transcendental meditation (TM), breathing techniques, inspired by the book “The Oxygen Advantage,” Music as a form of therapy and the importance of speaking out.
On April 17, an X hangle, @historyrock_, re-posted the video clip featuring Coldplay co-founder and singer-songwriter Chris Martin. The caption read, “Coldplay’s Chris Martin announces he has depression and gives advice on how to overcome it.“
After seeing the tweet, the six-time Grand Slam champion praised Martin, saying, “Chris is a wonderful man!”
Chris is a wonderful man ! https://t.co/qd4bYiRNMk
— Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) April 18, 2025
In 2021, when Naomi Osaka decided to withdraw from the French Open due to her mental health concerns, Becker was among the first ones to react to that news. He said, “Sadly, I’ve heard her first response a couple of days ago about this media boycott and she cited mental health issues, that’s something always to be taken seriously, especially from such a young woman.”
Then, in March this year, the German also reached out to Federico Gomez after the Argentine tennis star opened up about his battle with depression in an emotionally charged message. Becker even offered to help Gomez by saying, “God bless Federico ! If I can help in any way, contact me on my Instagram!” in one of his tweets.
After dealing with all these in the past, Becker has now found several ways of dealing with these things. What are those, though?
Boris Becker reveals the strategies to cope with all the mental hardships
Despite setting records and embarking his name in the history of the sport, Boris Becker’s imprisonment had literally taken away the spotlight from him. It marked the darkest phase of his entire life. During that phase, he learned, “It’s a very lonely place, so you have to use all your strength and all your mental energy just to survive the day. And then if you have a little bit left, just to be hopeful for the future. And I think that’s what it taught me, is really trying to live in the now, because we don’t know what’s around the corner next week. If anything, I think that’s what was the most important lesson.“
Talking about strategies to cope with all the mental hurdles, well, Peter Tosch once said, “Music is a science; it heals depression.” Interestingly, Becker has always been a big music lover, and guess what? Coldplay has a special place in his heart.
In 2023, he was even spotted attending one of their concerts in Milan, and he shared glimpses of that moment on his IG handle with the caption, “Look at the stars… What a wonderful evening with @coldplay at San Siro Milano! Many thanks for the invite..” Then, a year later, he highlighted one of their concerts on his X account with the caption, “Coldplay is just incredible.”
Once, he had even revealed his admiration for Chris Martin through a similar tweet by saying, “Chris Martin can play almost any song!“ Boris Becker also used Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ as the music for his wedding with Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro. Talking about his love for music, well, he was also spotted attending his friend, John McEnroe’s, electrifying concerts multiple times in the past.
What are your thoughts on music being one of the remedies for mental health struggles?
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