'It's OK not being OK': Even the most successful stars of sport face mental health challenges

Elite athletes are known for being tough as nails, focused and determined to overcome all obstacles.

Having said that, athletes are not indomitable. It can be tough to reconcile that even the most successful stars of sport grapple with their mental health.

Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu and Olympic cycling gold medallist Kelsey Mitchell reached the ultimate height in each of their sports, but both have endured mental health challenges on their respective journeys to stardom.

For Andreescu, it all started after her monumental win at the U.S. Open in 2019. 

More than three million Canadians watched the then-teenager defeat American legend Serena Williams at Flushing Meadows, becoming the first Canadian to win a major singles title.

WATCH | Andreescu makes history with U.S. Open victory over Serena Williams:

People started recognizing her more, there were mountains of social media engagement, injuries and then, of course, COVID. She didn't play the sport she loved for more than a year. 

"Being away from the sport was really, really hard for me and there were just so many ups and downs," the 22-year-old Mississauga, Ont., native told CBC Sports in a wide-ranging interview around Mental Health Awareness Month.

The end of the 2021 season is when things started to get really bad. That's when she knew she needed to take a mental break. 

"Basically, I didn't want to hear about tennis. I didn't want to look at tennis," she said. "I remember texting my friends and my family, not to mention anything about tennis because … I just wanted to quit because I didn't love the game anymore, and a lot of it was because I didn't love myself.

WATCH | Andreescu opens up about her mental health journey:

Mitchell's climb in her sport of track cycling has been remarkable, going from a university soccer player who'd never owned a bike to one of the most dominant sprinters in the world in just four years.

After her win at the Tokyo Olympics, the 29-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta., kept racking up the medals at Commonwealth Games, Nations Cup and Champions League.

Everything was running smoothly, until it wasn't. Signs of mental and physical strain were lingering. She first noticed something wasn't right at the world championships in October 2022.