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Gilles Simon steps away from tour for mental health reasons
French tennis veteran Gilles Simon announced on Friday that he's temporarily stepping away from the tennis tour. Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

Tennis' Gilles Simon steps away from tour for mental health reasons

French tennis veteran Gilles Simon announced on Friday that he's temporarily stepping away from the tennis tour to take better care of his mental health. 

"With my heart not being in it in terms of traveling and playing in these conditions, I unfortunately have to take a break in order to preserve myself mentally," Simon wrote, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "Hopefully my morale picks up as soon as possible." 

Simon lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of the Australian Open this month and then fell to Dennis Novak in the opening round of the Open Sud de France. The 36-year-old is currently ranked No. 68 but rose to as high as sixth back in 2009. He's made more than $15 million in tournament prize money throughout his career. 

Simon did not disclose when he may return to competitive play, but his tweet suggests he'll remain away as long as the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting countries and tournaments. 

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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