Heather Watson tells the BBC that she will take a break from tennis because she feels burnt out.
Watson fell to 6-6 on the season when she suffered a 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 defeat to Ayumi Morita in Miami yesterday. The 20-year-old Briton has cracked the Top 40 at No. 39, but has been beyond the quarterfinals of any tournament this season.
“This year I’ve been going a bit too long so I’m a bit burnt out," she said. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while now and I’m definitely going to take a break from tennis.”
Watson said that squandering a 6-2, 4-1 lead to Morita took an emotional toll.
"I was playing really well, probably the best I’ve played this year, and I think I lost my concentration a bit, but that was enough for her to gain some confidence and step forward, and it kind of pushed me back and I started to play a lot worse,” she said. “I still tried to fight but it just wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t aggressive enough. It really hurts, I think I just need to find myself, find my game again.”
Watson did not indicate when she would return.