After a great deal of thought and consideration, America's Jenson Brooksby has opened up about his autism disorder, describing it as "very personal" for a long time.
The 24-year-old burst onto the ATP Tour scene in 2022 by peaking at a career-high world No.33 — reaching two finals and claiming his first-ever top-five win.
In 2021, the then 20-year-old Brooksby became the youngest American since Andy Roddick in 2002 to reach the round of 16 at the US Open, eventually losing to Novak Djokovic.
In his debut at the 2023 Australian Open, he shocked three-time major finalist Casper Ruud to reach the third-round and clinch his maiden top-three scalp.
With his career on a rapid trajectory, Brooksby's world came crashing down in July 2023 when he was handed a provisional suspension from the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after allegedly skipping three doping tests.
His suspension was reduced from 18 months to 13 months, making him eligible to return to the ATP Tour in March this year.
Unknowingly to the public though, Brooksby has been dealing with autism from a young age, admitting to being nonverbal until the age of four.
He sat down with The Associated Press to explain what he has endured and the challenges faced while battling it out on the professional circuit.
"It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time and I don’t want to keep it to myself anymore," Brooksby said. "It’s very personal, and even with close friends, I found it hard to bring up. But I realised I wanted others to understand my story.
"It's just something I don't want to have to keep to myself. It's obviously a personal topic that, even with people you may feel very comfortable with — in my mind, at least for a long time — it wasn't [something] to just go blurting out as part of a conversation.
"But I've always thought about it and, eventually, just wanted to talk about it."
Now on the very mild end of the spectrum, it took Brooksby 40 hours each week working with therapists "to be able to even just start talking... [and] then to get better at communication and social situations."
To his credit, the California-born talent has leaned on his autism as a "big strength" during difficult moments in matches.
"I have learned to hone in on just a few details during the game, which can be a significant advantage," he said.
"I just want people to know me for who I am fully, and that's just another part of me."
Before his provisional ban, Brooksby underwent surgery on his left wrist in March 2023 before undergoing surgery on his right wrist two months later.
"Multiple bad things just happened at once," he said when referring to that period in his career. "It was a lot to take, mentally."
Brooksby plans to compete at the Canberra Challenger in preparation for the Australian Open after entering the Grand Slam entry list through his protected ranking privilege.
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