Former world No. 1 Dinara Safina revealed that her constant battles with anxiety and eating disorders led her to take retirement at the age of 28.
Safina, 37, a finalist at two different Grand Slams, stated that she wanted to share her story to make people understand that “this can happen to anyone”.
The Russian won 12 WTA titles as well as reached the Roland Garros final in 2008 and 2009, and Australian Open final in 2009. She also grabbed a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
Courtesy of a spectacular season, Safina topped the WRA rankings in 2009 and played the final match of her career in 2011 before officially announcing her retirement in 2014.
In an interview with Tennis.com, Safina revealed the sad truth behind her early retirement — something she had not previously disclosed.
“What ultimately kept me from coming back was that physically, I struggled with body weight. I was fighting anxiety and a binge eating disorder. I was consistently overweight, and I couldn’t lose it even though I fought so much to do so,” the 37-year-old explained.
“I would try different diets and nothing worked and to play with an extra 30 kilos, it’s not easy. For me, this was one of the main reasons why I never tried to come back, and these were tough moments for me, because I was physically not like I was, and people were saying that I had gotten fat and the blah-blah-blah.
“It’s not a secret, but at the same time, I don’t want it to be a story where people read it like I feel so bad and I’m crying over this. I want people to understand that this can happen to anyone.
“Everyone has their own problems, their own fears, and it’s normal, when facing them, to feel like you are alone in this world and no one else understands. Many people have gone through the same things. There is always light at the end, and it’s important to remember that you’re not alone.”
Safina has done some coaching since retiring and she accepted that after a long struggle, she is finally happy and may mark her return to the sport as a commentator.
“For now, I’m honestly happy, and I would prefer to help others. When I think of what my mission is in life, maybe it was tennis at one point, but now it may be to help others to achieve those results without making the mistakes I made,” she added.
