TORONTO — One of Canada’s top female tennis players is distancing herself from the game for the second time in a year.
Rebecca Marino says she’s "stepping away" from tennis.
Marino revealed that she has been suffering from depression for close to six years, which led to her taking a hiatus from the sport in 2012.
“To this day I still suffer from depression,” Marino told reporters during a conference call Wednesday.
Marino added that she has recently sought help from a therapist and described it as the best decision she had ever made.
“If I can share my story and change one person’s life I have done my job,” Marino explained.
Ultimately her decision to leave the sport was due to the fact she was “not willing to sacrifice happiness and other parts of my life” in order to continue to peruse her tennis career.
She is not calling this a strict retirement, saying, “I may come back to tennis, but I’m looking at other endeavours at this point.”
Marino on opening up on depression – “I just feel like it was something that needed to be done…it just feels like the right move.”
— Caroline Cameron (@SNCaroline) February 20, 2013
The 22-year-old from Vancouver rocketed from a world ranking of No. 192 in 2010 to No. 38 a year later.
She reached a WTA tournament final in Memphis in February, 2011.
"This was not an easy decision, but there are a number of factors that have led me to this," Marino said in a statement issued Wednesday by Tennis Canada.
"Factors that are part of our society and that I am more than open to discuss, which I plan to do moving forward, because I know it’s part of my growth process."
It wasn’t clear from the release if Marino intended to retire or return to tennis. She was scheduled to speak to the media on a conference call later Wednesday.
Marino told the New York Times the Internet and social media criticism that comes with being a pro athlete were overwhelming at times.
It played a role in her decision to take a hiatus in 2012 that lasted seven months, although at the time she said her reasons were "intense mental and physical fatigue."
Marino began hitting balls and training seriously again in June before returning to competition in September.
She played six tournaments and won a Challenger event in Rock Hill, S.C., in October.
Marino lost in the first round of the Australian Open in January. Her world ranking has plummeted to No. 418.
"I want to get back to the level where I was," Marino said following that loss. "I’d like to be competing in the top 100 by the end of the year."
Marino moved from Vancouver to Montreal at the age of 20 to train at Tennis Canada’s National Training Centre.
She returned to Vancouver last year and trained at the University of British Columbia prior to her recent comeback.
The coach of the Canadian women’s tennis team says he’s been in regular contact with Marino and Tennis Canada has tried to help her though her challenges of the last year.
"We’re for sure disappointed with the situation because, yes, we had a top player, who was up and coming and getting better," Sylvain Bruneau told The Canadian Press. "That’s my job to make sure we have more players like her who stay in the game. But at some point, you need to determine what’s best for the player or the person.
"We’ve been very supportive all the way, from the very beginning when she’s mentioned things. We’re still very supportive of her decision because it’s obviously what’s best for her."
With files from THE CANADIAN PRESS