Mardy Fish says he has made significant improvement since anxiety problems forced him to stop playing, but does not know if he will be able to resume his professional career.
"I've come a long, long way from where I was," he told *USA Today*, describing the psychological challenges he experienced following problems with an irregular heart beat during the Miami tournament in 2012.
The American said he had increasing problems traveling and playing tournaments, particularly during the 2012 U.S. Open, when he withdrew from a fourth-round meeting against Roger Federer.
"I was basically getting anxiety attacks every 30 minutes of the day at that time," said Fish, who had to delay his return to Los Angeles and described not leaving his house for three months.
It also led him to retire from a third-round match in Wintson-Salem a year ago; he has not played since. But Fish, using therapy and medication, told the newspaper the issue has subsided and he also no longer wears a heart-rate monitor at night. He and wife Stacey had a son, Beckett, six months ago, and Fish has begun playing professional golf.
However, he would still like to return to tennis, even agreeing to take a wild card into the U.S. Open doubles with Andy Roddick before anti-doping regulations prevented Roddick from playing.
"I do want to play again," Fish said. "I'm just not sure if I'll be able to.''