Former American tennis star Mardy Fish has often pointed to one person as the reason he made it through the toughest stretch of his career and his life: his wife, Stacey Gardner.
Their marriage has spanned more than a decade, and Fish has repeatedly credited her with helping him manage severe anxiety at a time when few professional athletes were willing to talk openly about mental health.
How They Met and Got Married
Gardner, known for her modeling work and an appearance on the game show Deal or No Deal, became a fixture on the tennis tour years before she and Fish tied the knot. The couple got engaged in November 2007 and married in the summer of 2009 in a black tie ceremony at a hotel in Los Angeles, her hometown.
The wedding drew about 150 guests, including fellow tennis players who served as groomsmen and other athletes from outside the tennis world.
Fish wore a classic black tuxedo for the occasion, while Gardner chose a fitted white gown for the ceremony, which closed out with a well-known U2 song as the newlyweds made their way down an aisle scattered with red rose petals.
After the wedding, Fish took a break from competition to spend time with his new wife before returning to the tour later that year. He later said that finding happiness away from the court gave him a clearer head on it, and that having Gardner by his side played a real role in a strong run of results not long after they married.
Supporting Him Through Anxiety
The most significant chapter in their relationship came a few years later, when Fish’s anxiety reached a breaking point.
He experienced panic attacks so frequent and severe that he made the difficult choice to withdraw from a high-profile match at the U.S. Open against Roger Federer in 2012, rather than push through in silence the way athletes had traditionally been trained to do.
Fish has said that Gardner was the one who pulled him out of that dark period, offering perspective and support at a moment when he badly needed it.
That support gave him the confidence to step away from the match and speak candidly with reporters about what he was going through, a decision that helped shift the conversation around mental health in professional sports well before it became more common for athletes to discuss it publicly.
Fish, who was later diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder, has continued to speak about that period of his life, including in the Netflix documentary Untold: Breaking Point, which chronicles his struggles and his return to the game. He has also taken on a mentorship role for younger players facing similar challenges and has served as captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team.
Looking back, Fish has pointed to athletes like Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles as examples of a broader shift toward openness about mental health, one he believes benefits players at every level. Through it all, he has consistently named his wife as the steady presence who helped him recognize it was acceptable to admit he was struggling, and who supported him in getting back to a place where he could compete and thrive again.