'Sport was a big release' - how autism helps Brooksby on court

Jenson Brooksby reached the third round at Indian Wells

Six days before Christmas, Jenson Brooksby took to social media to share something he had "kept quiet for his entire life".

The 24-year-old American revealed he had been "diagnosed on the severe end of the spectrum as a very young child", and was non-verbal until the age of four.

The decision to go public had not been taken lightly, but was driven by a desire to help families living the same experience and any future professionals with autism.

"My whole life with my parents, it wasn't something you are very comfortable sharing because there could be consequences - especially when I was younger," Brooksby told BBC Sport.

"But I've learned as I've grown up that even with people close to me, the response is very casual and not much is thought about it.

"I think my desire to be able to help other people with it in certain scenarios - say, if they are trying to become a professional player - was bigger than any negative outcome I could have thought of.

"I really hope that future players, whether they are vocal about it or not, they at least know it's OK for them to struggle with it and hopefully be able to explain why."

Brooksby can remember some of the intensive therapy he received, starting aged two and at times up to 40 hours a week.

An immense gratitude to his parents is clear as he explains how they devoted their time and resources to help him speak.

For Brooksby, sport was a release. Tennis - along with basketball, swimming and athletics - came into his life aged four, with lessons following a few years later.

"Sport was a big release for me. If I sit for a long time I can have a lot of energy bottled up, and so being a very active kid really let it out," he said.

"I always wanted to train to try to be good at something. Even at that age, I think I had that mindset of competing and to be good at something."

How rare talent fell foul of anti-doping rules

Brooksby is a rare and crafty talent, one who keeps opponents guessing with the variety of his shotmaking.

He announced his arrival in 2021, beating Taylor Fritz and bamboozling Novak Djokovic for one set as he became the youngest American to reach the US Open fourth round for 19 years.

He reached a career high of 33rd in the world nine months later. But he arrived at this year's Indian Wells ranked 937 after two years out of tennis.

There were shoulder problems, surgery on both wrists - and a ban for missing three out of competition drugs tests in a 12-month period.

All players who are part of the International Registered Testing Pool have to provide advance notice of where they will be for a one-hour period on every single day of the year.

The second missed test was disputed, with Brooksby's legal team providing evidence that he was at the hotel he had nominated. However, the room he was sharing was booked in his physio's name, and a note left at the front desk to that effect was not communicated to the doping control officer.

An independent tribunal was told Brooksby had previously declined invitations to learn more about the anti-doping system and delegated responsibility to his adviser Amrit Narasimhan.

Brooksby was banned for 18 months which was later reduced to 13 months by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) when new information came to light.

This information related to his autism diagnosis and, even though the ITIA never stated it publicly, Brooksby’s team believes this was the principle reason his level of fault was no longer deemed as high.

Brooksby spent two years away from tennis before returning at Indian Wells

Michelle Wagner oversaw Brooksby’s treatment plan until he was six and told the appeal his autism has affected his decision-making as an adult.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Wagner said Brooksby "presented as a very severe case" as a child but is "on the very mild end of the spectrum" as an adult - an “unusual and unique outcome".

Brooksby believes his condition "definitely" contributed to him falling foul of the rules.

"I've had my agent keep track of where I will be every day, because it's hard for my brain to be able to focus well on many different things," he said.

"It's a positive for me to be able to focus on a few simple things. But a downside is that there can be so many things going on for us players it's hard for my mind to be able to wrap around that.

"I have had so much time to reflect on it, and it's in the past. I'm pretty much at peace with it.

"I think all of us have things that we have been a little disappointed in, and it can be pretty frustrating, but I don't really think about it any more.

"If it ever pops into my mind I just use it as a reminder to try to get better."

His adviser Narasimhan says he would sometimes be confused how Brooksby responded to him before he knew of his autism and its challenges.

"Now I understand that if I get an unusual response from Jenson, I need to think from his perspective and use more salient, less abstract language,” he said.

“I understand now that when he asks me the same question more than once, it's not that he wasn't listening, it's that he's looking for a clearer answer.

“Make no mistake, Jenson is a highly intelligent individual. I needed to make changes to communicate effectively, and be more patient with my communication.”

'I always tell myself: I am healthy and strong'

Brooksby reached the fourth round of the US Open in 2021

Brooksby's autism does not hugely affect his life outside tennis these days - and it can prove an advantage on the court.

He says during his early years there were "some very simple things in life that I would have negative outbursts at if it didn't go my way".

He credits the effort he and his parents put in - from having a phrase to tell himself or just focusing on his breathing - for helping keep his emotions in check.

"If, for example, I have any doubts about my body on court, or I'm feeling a little bit more pain, I will always tell myself I am healthy and strong," he said.

"I'm able to keep my focus pretty well in higher pressure moments and not get distracted by external things like the crowd, the wind, if people are standing up.

"I'm a lot better now than I was four or five years ago."

Brooksby did not return to the tour until January's Australian Open, exactly two years after his previous appearance.

His first tour-level wins came at Indian Wells and, after losing to Jack Draper in the third round, he was touched to see the British player write "good to have a great player back" on the camera lens.

The response from his fellow professionals has otherwise been muted - which is fine by Brooksby.

"Nothing that I've seen, just happy you are healthy and back out here playing," Brooksby added.

"I think a lot of players just won't get into personal subjects and they are focused on themselves anyway, which is just fine."