Bedbugs, anxiety and friendships: the ups and downs of life on tennis’ lower rungs

The mental trials that come from trying to make it as a professional tennis player are often severely underrated by fans

You get depressed for the first two days returning home and the first two days on the road, too?"

I thought I was the only tennis player who struggled with this part of tour life. I'm talking with one of my best friends in professional tennis, Taylor Ng, a Dartmouth University graduate who worked on Wall Street for two years before pursuing a professional career. Today, she ranks around No 650 in the world.

This article was originally published by Global Sport Matters, a project of the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University. For more stories like this, visit the Global Sport Matters website.