In a long interview with
L'Equipe
, Pete Sampras evokes the scourge of online harassment suffered by tennis players today.
“
In the 1990s, it was not fashionable to share your feelings.
We had to shut up and carry on, tomorrow was always another day.
We have now arrived at this freedom of speech, the expression of one's feelings.
With this new parameter to manage that are social networks.
In the age of the king telephone, the internet and comments, you can quickly twist and get out of your bubble.
If I was playing today, I would throw my phone into the sea. What an anxiety-provoking thing,
confides the American legend.
“
It's useful if you're lost in the pampas, but it makes you so vulnerable and accessible.
So many things can distract you.
No, really, you don't need that thing.
I got my first phone at 29.
The kids today, it is rather at 10 years old that they discover it.
That too can affect your mental health,
”said the former world number one.