Sloane Stephens Talks Mental Health: 'A Lot of Players on Our Tour Suffer in Silence'

American tennis star Sloane Stephens said Saturday mental health should be a "top priority for everyone," including players on the WTA Tour.

"I feel like a lot of players on our tour suffer in silence. I think that is not cool and not fair and we should definitely approach it differently," Stephens told reporters. "The more support, the better. I think not only for us girls supporting each other but for the tour to be able to support us in different ways is super helpful."

Her comments come in the wake of four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka withdrawing from the 2021 French Open on Monday, saying she's suffered "long bouts of depression" since her first major triumph at the 2018 U.S. Open.

Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, advanced to the fourth round at Roland Garros with a straight-sets victory over No. 18 seed Karolina Muchova on Saturday.

The 28-year-old Florida native explained that while players are rivals on the court, they're often friends outside of the lines as they travel around the world together playing tournaments all year.

"As competitors and colleagues, I think it's important to support each other just because, honestly, on the road every single week we're really all we have," she said. "We're the same faces that we see all the time. I think it's super important to be able to support each other through, you know, the ups and downs, because obviously tennis is super emotional."

Stephens explained the internet has created another direct avenue for criticism and added to "all these things that creep into your mind."

"It's really important to be able to talk to people, talk to someone, just about what you're feeling, what you're going through," she said. "It's not easy to just pretend that everything is great when it's not."

Leaders of tennis' four Grand Slam tournaments released a joint statement after the withdrawal of Osaka, who'd been fined $15,000 for skipping media requirements—a move she had previously explained was because she struggled to handle them mentally—after her first-round win, saying they'll work to "create meaningful improvements" on mental health.

In her announcement, Osaka said she planned to "take some time away from the court" but offered to meet with WTA Tour officials in the future to "discuss ways we can make things better for the players, press and fans."

The 23-year-old Japanese sensation has received support from fellow athletes and sponsors since making her decision to step away from the French Open.

Meanwhile, Stephens will continue her pursuit of a second major championship when she takes on Barbora Krejcikova in the round of 16 on Monday.