Jenson Brooksby is opening up on living with autism.
The 24-year-old Brooksby is set to make his Grand Slam at next month’s Australian Open.
It will be Brooksby’s first major appearance since he reached the third round of the 2023 Australian Open. Brooksby has been sidelined after undergoing surgery to both wrists and serving a suspension for violating the World Anti-Doping Agency’s whereabouts rule.
In an exclusive new interview with Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press, Brooksby shares he was diagnosed “on the severe end of the spectrum as a very young child” and non-verbal until age 4.
Brooksby credits the love and support of his parents and the fact he reportedly worked with therapists 40 hours a week as a child to speak.
Jenson Brooksby spoke to the AP about living with autism and returning to tennis after 2 years away because of injuries, operations and his whereabouts ban. https://t.co/QF37ORVIep pic.twitter.com/KG7CpNJLQD
— Howard Fendrich (@HowardFendrich) December 19, 2024
“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, you know?” Brooksby said. “But I’ve always thought about it and … I, eventually, just wanted to talk about it.”