LAPTHORNE Andy

Classification
Quad (ITF, 02 Aug 2021)

Type of Impairment
Cerebral Palsy (Athlete, 11 Aug 2015; paralympics.org.uk, 08 Sep 2019)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 11 Aug 2015)

Impairment Details
He was born with cerebral palsy. (Athlete, 11 Aug 2015; paralympics.org.uk, 08 Sep 2019)

General
MENTAL HEALTH BREAK
After finishing runner-up to Australian Dylan Alcott in the quad singles at the 2020 French Open in Paris, he announced he was taking time away from the sport to focus on his mental health. He returned to international competition in February 2021. "If I'm honest, it was really difficult to get out of bed this morning, going onto a big court under high pressure live on TV against probably the best player that's ever played in our division. I need to get right before I start coming out for these events again. Having met with my doctor it's clear I'm not going to be able to compete for a while. I've really struggled mentally over the last nine months or so and gradually got worse. Having massive sudden lows out of nowhere and having constant lack of energy to do anything has been horrendous. My anxiety levels have reached a stage when I'm competing where it's unbearable and impossible to compete the way I always have. Much of the time I feel fine and then I get hit by another wave of negative feeling and lack of self worth. Hiding it and telling yourself to man up only leads you down a dark road that I now feel trapped in." (bbc.co.uk, 10 Oct 2020; insidethegames.biz, 21 Oct 2020; itftennis.com, 25 Jul 2021)