WEBVTT - French Open Champions Luke and Murphy Jensen 0:00:02.200 --> 0:00:05.240 In the game of life, Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and 0:00:05.320 --> 0:00:08.640 nurturing meaningful connections with family can be among the most 0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:10.240 formidable challenges we face. 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:15.480 We were, in some respects football players playing tennis. We 0:00:15.560 --> 0:00:19.160 brought the Northern Michigan fight to everywhere we played. 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:23.919 Yet for many professional athletes, fostering both has proven to 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:25.920 be a triumphant recipe for success. 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:30.320 You never thought of tennis as this rough and tough thing, 0:00:30.360 --> 0:00:33.320 and so tennis just took our family places that we 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:35.440 could never do in other sports. 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:39.519 I'm John Frankor. For the past two decades, I've traveled 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:42.520 the globe covering some of the most impactful human interest 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:45.879 stories in sports. On this show, I'm sitting down with 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:48.640 some of the biggest families in the game, the legends, 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:53.160 current superstars, and the up and coming playmakers to understand 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:56.880 what's really making them tick. What can pro athlete families 0:00:56.920 --> 0:00:59.680 teach a new generation about the importance of caring for 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:03.520 your health and finding success in the face of adversity. Together, 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:08.000 we'll hear stories of their remarkable comebacks, setbacks, and the 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:11.319 crucial role their family and self care played in their 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:15.560 paths to championship glory. This is part of the game. 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:22.160 The early nineteen nineties were a transformative time for the 0:01:22.160 --> 0:01:25.880 game of tennis. Pete Sampras, Steffi Groff, and Monica Sellis 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:30.240 dominated the courts, winning multiple Grand Slam titles. Another superstar, 0:01:30.440 --> 0:01:33.680 Andre Agassi, helped to sell the game to an entirely 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:37.760 new audience with his brash demeanor and flamboyant style emmen 0:01:39.120 --> 0:01:42.280 Is Everything. No One, however, had a bigger and more 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:45.679 immediate impact on the game than Luke and Murphy Jensen, 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:48.880 with their wild hair and love of rock music. The 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:52.160 Jensen brothers hit the hardcourt with a shaggy haired vengeance 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:55.400 and ushered in the era of grunge tennis, which is 0:01:55.520 --> 0:01:58.120 just another way of saying they stood out from most 0:01:58.200 --> 0:02:03.000 other tennis players. Outsize, charisma and irreverent style of play 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:05.960 made them folk heres for a new generation of tennis 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:09.640 fans and made them superstars off the court, daring to 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:12.600 be different. As Murphy once put, it was their brand. 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:16.120 We are now flying around in private jets and limousines 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:19.440 and the commitment. I felt like I was in a 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:23.279 hurricane in the tornado. For the next eight to ten years. 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:26.519 The rude dudes of tennis as Rolling Stone called them 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:30.720 also had serious game. On June fifth, nineteen ninety three, 0:02:30.880 --> 0:02:34.000 they proved it on national television, winning the French Open 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:38.040 doubles championship. The Jensens were the toast of tennis, even 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:40.200 getting to play under the lights at the US Open, 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:44.640 virtually unheard of at the time for doubles matches. Unfortunately, 0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:49.720 the good times didn't last long. Instant stardom proved overwhelming 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:50.800 for Murphy Jensen. 0:02:52.400 --> 0:02:56.880 I was restless and I self medicated, and that eventually 0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:58.560 led to using drugs. 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:04.280 On top of that, it would take him years to 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:07.359 rebuild his life, but he did. He found a new 0:03:07.400 --> 0:03:10.960 purpose in helping others fight addiction, and like his big 0:03:10.960 --> 0:03:13.600 brother Luke, he stayed close to the sport that gave 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:17.560 them both so much. But Murphy Jensen's struggles were not over. 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:21.400 One afternoon in twenty twenty one, he nearly died on 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:24.239 the tennis court after going into cardiac arrest. 0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:30.720 So he's there on the ground, I got people all around, 0:03:31.480 --> 0:03:34.079 and as the professionals are trying to bring him back 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:36.960 to life, get his heart going, they give me the 0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:40.520 assignment to keep talking to him, to keep him with us. 0:03:41.120 --> 0:03:44.000 And the only thing that kept popping in my mind, 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:47.560 is I may be saying the last words of my 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:49.720 life to my brother. 0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:56.400 Once again, Murphy Jensen was tested, and what followed is 0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:59.440 another chapter and the remarkable story of two of the 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:07.960 most unique figures in the history of tennis. I'm really 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:12.960 pleased Luke Jensen and younger brother Murphy Jensen spending some 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:16.120 time with us here on heart of the game. And 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:18.719 therein lies the crux of this story, which we will 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:22.279 get to because this really is about the heart when 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:24.880 it comes to Murphy Jensen. But first we want to 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:29.520 talk about you guys as the rude dudes for those 0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:33.520 who don't know the Jensen brothers. Is it fair to 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:37.160 say took the world of tennis by storm? You'd been 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:41.279 out there, you'd been journeyman. You right, that's a fair 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:43.040 way to put it, journeyman. 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:44.720 I would say so. I mean we were out there. 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:47.880 Murphy's two and a half years younger. I turned pro 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:50.920 after two years at Southern cal and then he showed 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:52.760 up on the scene at Southern cal for two years 0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:55.359 before going to Georgia for a year. But I had 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:57.279 been out there for a little bit and making my 0:04:57.360 --> 0:04:59.960 way on the double side of it. And then when 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:01.760 Murphy kind of showed up, he had to go through 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:05.280 the minor leagues and then going into ninety three that season, 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:08.880 we had made a decision to live a lifelong dream 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:11.520 to play on the tour together. So his ranking was 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:13.320 in the top one hundred I was in the top ten, 0:05:13.720 --> 0:05:16.200 so we could get into most of those tournaments. And 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:18.600 we started out in the Middle East in Doah, Qatar, 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:22.880 and so that was our start as a doubles team 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:25.480 on the main tour. We played some minor league tournaments together, 0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:28.400 and of course when we're younger, but this was the 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:30.800 real deal. We were committing to the tour with each other. 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:34.640 When you decided to play together. Was that willingly or 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:37.000 was that big brother saying you're going to do this 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:39.160 because I want you to do it? 0:05:39.760 --> 0:05:43.599 Well, I mean along the way there's blood, sweat and 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:46.640 tears to get to that decision. 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:48.000 But you had serious game. 0:05:49.480 --> 0:05:52.400 Well, we had enough of the game to get there, 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:56.240 be there and win there at the highest level at 0:05:56.279 --> 0:06:01.400 the French Open. It was a journey from a Christmas 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:04.120 tree farm in northern Michigan, a sacrifice for mom and 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:07.440 dad to give us an opportunity to live our dreams 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:11.200 and everywhere we kept going in this game. At tennis, 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:13.680 Luke was the number one junior tennis player in the 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:16.120 world at the age of eighteen, on the cover of 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:20.440 Tennis magazine, alongside, you know, ahead of Becker and Edberg 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:22.400 and all of them. And so he made the decision 0:06:22.440 --> 0:06:25.280 to go to college, which was, you know, really a 0:06:25.320 --> 0:06:26.200 bad move, Luke. 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:32.000 I want to go back to your youth for a minute. 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:36.240 You grow up on this Christmas tree farm in Luddington, Michigan, right, 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:38.480 which is all the way west. I mean literally on 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:41.280 the on Lake Michigan. Yep, right, if I have it right. 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:45.520 Maybe not the tennis hotbed of the world, Luddington, Michigan. 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:48.080 How do you guys end up on a tennis court. 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:53.839 The biggest thing was we had parents that were ex athletes. 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:58.160 My dad ended up playing college football at Minnesota and 0:06:58.200 --> 0:07:01.279 then Memphis State, transferred there and then for a cup 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:03.320 of coffee for the New York Giants. We got his 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:06.640 contract and it was you know, all this Sam Huff 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:09.720 and all these guys back and you know, some amazing times. 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:14.040 And then my mom was a frustrated athlete six foot two, 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:17.000 played basketball in high school, but there was no title 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:20.960 nine for her. So we have two frustrated athletes that 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:24.560 go get their degrees in physical education and they park 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:27.960 their place in nineteen sixty six and have four kids 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:30.440 in this small town in Lennington, Michigan, and when they 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:33.360 decide to have kids, they want athletics to be their 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:36.280 kids avenue to see the world. And tennis was the 0:07:36.280 --> 0:07:38.640 one sport. I mean, football was supposed to be our sport, 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:42.400 but tennis was the one thing that my sisters could 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:44.320 play and my brother and I could play, and we 0:07:44.360 --> 0:07:48.040 could go to these same tournaments. And to be perfectly honest, 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:50.840 it was the Arthur Ashes and the Billy Jean Kings, 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:54.040 the Chris Everts and Jimmy Connors and these people who 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:55.800 were at the top of the game at the time 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:59.239 that really inspired my parents. Like tennis is the vehicle 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:02.160 because not step on a football field. And there were 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:04.880 kids just as big as I was, if not bigger, 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:08.360 but in tennis, I was like the dominant alpha physically. 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:10.840 And then Murphy, I mean Murphy's six foot four. I'm 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:13.480 six ' to two, And at the time tennis was 0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:16.920 really a whimped sport. You never thought of tennis as 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:19.640 you know, this rough and tough thing, and so tennis 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:22.320 just took our family places that we could never do 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:25.400 in other sports. 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:31.200 Given that your dad had this background in football, was 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:33.520 he a drill sergeant on the tennis court? Was he 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:37.000 a guy? Did he bring that football mentality to teaching 0:08:37.040 --> 0:08:37.600 you the game? 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:40.680 I mean it started really with the football. We used 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:44.280 tennis as the vehicle to become great football players. It 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:47.640 wasn't to become great tennis players. I can say he 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:53.480 took the old school football mentality of we were showing 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:56.120 up for practice on time, if you know what I mean. 0:08:56.679 --> 0:08:58.959 But at the same time that discipline, there was nothing 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:02.920 but love from both sides. If anything, it was about 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:06.400 behaving properly. That was the real message. That we gave 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:09.640 this thing everything we had, and so we were taught 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:13.000 at an early age that you do things right in 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:15.040 the right way, and you're going to see results. 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:21.160 I would assume, as you guys progress in tennis that 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:25.679 your goal was singles. That's where tennis put the spotlight. 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:29.560 Well, no doubt, we are doing everything. We just wanted 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:32.559 to play, and whether singles doubles are mixed, we were 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:35.680 playing tennis. We were spending thousands of hours in those 0:09:35.720 --> 0:09:39.240 tennis courts seven days a week. Three sixty five, I 0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:43.040 turned pro. Luke had had an injury that sidelined them, 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:46.560 and money was tight at home, and his doubles game 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:49.000 took off real quick with a win at Monte Carlo 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:51.280 and he breaks the top ten, maybe even top five 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:54.280 that year with Lorie Warder. But at the same time 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:56.800 it was pretty obvious that if we're going to play 0:09:56.840 --> 0:09:58.800 doubles with anybody on the tour, we're going to play 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:03.320 with each other. And the off season Christmas and New 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:05.920 Year's of ninety three, before going to the DOA, we were 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:09.160 on our way. It was grunge tennis, you know, everything, 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:12.560 grunge Seattle, and you know, we didn't have an image, 0:10:12.559 --> 0:10:14.680 and we didn't set out to do anything but to 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:17.880 kick some button win, you know. The next twelve months 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:21.280 and then six months we won a little tournament in Paris. 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:24.800 Just a small one. It's at this place called Roland 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:25.959 Garss I think I've heard of. 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:28.400 There's a huge tower there. Check it out. 0:10:30.160 --> 0:10:32.760 Let's talk about the landscape of tennis as you two 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:37.959 begin to make a name for yourselves. Tennis in the 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:42.080 late eighties early nineties, it's still largely considered a gentleman's sport, 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:46.280 but there was also this transformative period. Okay, tennis is 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:49.839 not just on the back pages of the sports section. 0:10:49.960 --> 0:10:52.280 It's really beginning to take front and center for a 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:55.960 lot of people. And then you guys come along, And 0:10:56.559 --> 0:10:59.480 would you guys agree that you guys took the tennis 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:02.680 scene by storm and you were these brash young brothers 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:06.120 who brought that football mentality of your dad's to the 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:06.720 tennis court. 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:11.439 There's no question that's exactly right that we were, in 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:16.520 some respects football players playing tennis. And if I look 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:19.480 back at John McEnroe gets to Wimbledon as a seventeen 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:21.800 year old and he starts throwing his racket, going crazy, 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:23.800 and they started there was a buzz about it. Well, 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:26.880 we started high five and in fighting. We brought the 0:11:27.120 --> 0:11:30.640 Northern Michigan fight to everywhere we played. 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:33.160 People knew they stepped on the court, they're going to 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:36.200 play a couple of rough lumberjacks. 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:42.520 Basically, let's go back to nineteen ninety three June, you 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:45.640 win the French Open doubles, you win a Grand Slam. 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:47.040 What does that feel like? 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:51.679 Well, for me, it was the greatest accomplishment. You fight 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:53.520 so hard in that match in the finals, we were 0:11:53.559 --> 0:11:56.040 down three to zero in the third and I remember 0:11:56.120 --> 0:12:00.280 specifically thinking that if we don't win this, we ever 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:02.960 get here again. Like their matches that listen, you want 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:04.600 to win, but it's not going to kill you. If 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:07.200 you lose, it's a nice, you know, moral victory. But 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:10.440 you get in those finals. There's a big difference between 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:13.600 being known as a French Open champion or a French 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:14.480 Open runner up. 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:17.880 So you win this match, yep, and not only have 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:21.800 you survived and advanced, but you've won it all. How 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:26.440 does life change for you, guys on and off the 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:28.680 court as a result of that win? 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:32.120 Once you win those majors, you're a made band like 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:34.280 no one could ever say you were never good enough. 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:37.640 You're a French Open champion, you are a made player. 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:40.800 Everything you thought you could be, you just accomplished it. 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:43.199 But Murphy, what were you thinking on the other side? 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:50.160 Two things I felt in that moment, One that there 0:12:50.160 --> 0:12:55.320 were like the tennis gods were accepted into this club 0:12:55.960 --> 0:12:59.640 of those that win something like this. And the second 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:02.800 thing an overwhelming feeling that I found out later. 0:13:04.440 --> 0:13:07.840 My hands started shaking. Then I had a panic attack 0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:13.240 and my outsides in that moment. We were the best 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:16.240 in the world in that moment on that day, But 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:18.920 my insides were in my head was saying, you know, 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:21.240 you suck, You're not enough. 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:22.800 You know, just wait? 0:13:25.080 --> 0:13:26.520 Did you feel like an impostor? 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:28.880 I think I was just scared. 0:13:29.240 --> 0:13:33.600 Scared of the limelight, the expectations. 0:13:33.280 --> 0:13:34.480 Scared of what was to come. 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:42.000 Everything changed for the brothers after the French Open victory. 0:13:42.240 --> 0:13:45.360 The Gentsens were no longer just the gregarious siblings who 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:47.560 put on a show on the court. They were Grand 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:51.280 Slam champions and in high demand. Always willing to promote 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:53.920 the sport, they kept up a whirlwind schedule of media 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:57.640 appearances in kids clinics. They even began getting appearance fees 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:00.240 to show up at tournaments, something that was on heard 0:14:00.240 --> 0:14:03.720 of for doubles. In nineteen ninety five, they played under 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:06.880 the lights at the US Open on primetime television, a 0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:10.640 spotlight that almost never was available to doubles players. The 0:14:10.760 --> 0:14:14.920 Jensens had officially arrived, but the skyrocketing fame took a 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:18.920 toll on Murphy. He began missing matches and skipping appearances 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:22.440 while his career on the court was peaking. By nineteen 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:25.520 ninety nine, his life off. It was spiraling out of 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:28.040 control in a haze of substance abuse. 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:38.240 I don't think I was ready emotionally, definitely not ready mentally. 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:43.160 I didn't have the tools to embark on what was 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:46.200 to come. And what was to come was Big Agent 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:50.800 signs us to a deal. Peter Moore, Bob's Drasser by Zadidas. 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:54.000 Peter Moore made the Air Jordan's shoe, and now he's 0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:56.800 sketching out what the Jensen Brothers image and brand's going 0:14:56.840 --> 0:14:59.600 to look like. We are now flying around in private 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:02.640 jets and limousines, and I felt like I was in 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:05.640 a hurricane, in a tornado for the next eight to 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:10.600 ten years, absolutely out of control. I was uncomfortable in 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:14.200 my skin. I was restless. I found myself starting to 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:19.320 self medicate and isolate with alcohol, and that eventually led 0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:23.000 to using drugs on top of that in pills. 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:32.840 It was during the nineteen ninety nine US Open that 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:36.600 Murphy Jensen had reached the end of his rope and 0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:38.760 contemplated the unthinkable. 0:15:41.000 --> 0:15:44.920 We lose whatever around. And it was during the time 0:15:45.000 --> 0:15:47.680 my son Billy was being born twenty four years ago, 0:15:48.800 --> 0:15:52.080 and I was looking at jumping out of a window 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:55.320 in New York City, and instead of a hotel manager 0:15:55.800 --> 0:16:01.000 calling the police, he called an interventionist. And by the 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:03.000 time I got to Los Angeles maybe a week or 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:05.320 two later. You know, I went through a psych word 0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:07.440 in the detox and got help. 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:09.640 First of all, I'm so sorry you've gone through this, 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:13.560 Thank you, But it sounds like you're doing okay today. Yeah, 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:17.000 I'm doing great, given that you're now how many years sober? 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:20.920 Twenty four years in recovery. I had a reoccurrence relapse 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:24.400 after four and a half years, and I have not 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:27.160 had to look back in seventeen eighteen years. 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:31.520 Just so the audience can understand here, it wasn't the 0:16:31.560 --> 0:16:36.560 glory of winning a Grand Slam and becoming celebrities that 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:40.920 led you to this partying life that has occurred with 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:42.880 so many other athletes. All of a sudden they hit 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:46.000 it big. There's money flowing in, there's limos, there's private planes. 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:48.880 Everybody's throwing a party for you. Yeah, that was not 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:52.040 why you fell into this lifestyle. It was for you 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:55.640 more of an escape from that very existence. 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:56.640 Yeah. 0:16:56.680 --> 0:16:59.480 I think the centerpiece what I've learned over twenty four years, 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:03.280 what I treat on a daily basis even to this day. 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:05.159 Is my head will tell me I need to be 0:17:05.240 --> 0:17:09.720 somewhere other than where I'm at, or whatever I'm doing 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:14.000 isn't what I should be doing, as opposed to, you know, 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:16.800 having the tools and the ability to be still, be calm, 0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:22.200 be present, breathe, relax. You know, it's called the human condition. 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:25.440 I've been restless, irritable, and discontent for a long time. 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:28.520 I go back to first time I ever was offered 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:33.440 an alcoholic beverage and I was twelve thirteen years old, 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:36.800 and I had no interest in that stuff and no 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:40.840 exposure to that. But the reason my motive for saying 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:43.600 yes is I wanted your approval. I wanted your affection, 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:47.760 you know, I wanted you to like me. And of 0:17:47.800 --> 0:17:50.320 course and then hey, get to high school smoke this. 0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:54.359 What is this? I wanted you your approval, I wanted 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:57.280 your affection. Now I've got the approval and affection, and 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:00.000 I found myself in my playing days on the two 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:06.600 and I'm absolutely empty and in some ways soul this 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:09.840 and I was so afraid to speak up or ask 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:11.760 for help because I didn't know what the heck was 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:12.359 wrong with me. 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:18.680 Were you playing matches under the influence? 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:21.280 Yeah, I have, Luke. 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:23.840 Did you know the first time I found out? And 0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:27.240 I forgot what year it was in Rome? And Murphy 0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:29.560 was always kind of a free spirit. Sometimes I had 0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:31.760 to get my own practice partner. If he didn't practice 0:18:31.760 --> 0:18:35.640 for a couple of days, that was understood. But one 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:38.080 day goes by with no practice, and then the day 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:41.760 before we play usually we get at least a practice 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:43.879 in and he didn't practice. So I just had this 0:18:44.000 --> 0:18:47.320 really strange feeling. He's not answering his phone. So I 0:18:47.359 --> 0:18:51.639 go down and get his room number, and I go 0:18:51.760 --> 0:18:55.720 to the floor and I just noticed or here on 0:18:55.720 --> 0:18:59.159 his floor, there's some noise or something at the end 0:18:59.200 --> 0:19:02.640 of the hallway. So I start going towards his room 0:19:02.680 --> 0:19:05.440 and it's the noise is coming from his room and 0:19:05.480 --> 0:19:09.000 the door is open, every light is open, the TV's 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:13.479 on is just loud and bright, and there he is 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:15.760 on the bed with his eyes wide open, and he 0:19:15.800 --> 0:19:18.480 had a cigarette in his mouth looking at me. I 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:22.480 didn't know he smoked. At that moment, I was brought 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:25.600 into a world that I had no idea even existed, 0:19:25.920 --> 0:19:29.320 much less that we were playing professional tennis and he 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:29.920 was in that. 0:19:29.880 --> 0:19:36.360 State, Murphy sought help for his addictions. Years later, once 0:19:36.400 --> 0:19:39.639 he had turned things around, Murphy realized his story of 0:19:39.680 --> 0:19:42.800 recovery and redemption could help others who were struggling with 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:47.200 substance abuse. He co founded the company We Connect. Its 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:49.639 mission is to help people tackle their mental health and 0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:55.800 drug abuse issues. You took your path and used it 0:19:55.840 --> 0:19:58.720 as an opportunity once you got yourself clean and back 0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:01.600 on your feet, to then try and help others. You 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:04.960 wanted to pay it forward, and you start this business 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:09.239 with some other folks called We Connect. Why did you 0:20:09.320 --> 0:20:10.960 choose that path? 0:20:11.800 --> 0:20:15.480 We grew up Catholic, and the difference between religion and 0:20:15.760 --> 0:20:18.880 spirituality is religions for people that are afraid of going 0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:21.560 to hell, and spirituality is for people that have been there. 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:25.040 And I follow a spiritual path and one of my 0:20:25.200 --> 0:20:28.040 values and principles of service to others and helping others. 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:31.000 And it was never to start a company. I didn't 0:20:31.040 --> 0:20:33.800 ever see any of this as an opportunity. At the 0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:37.359 truth that be said, those early days, it was the 0:20:37.400 --> 0:20:41.439 worst thing that could have happened to me, absolutely ground 0:20:41.560 --> 0:20:45.440 zero of hell. So you know I've co founded We Connect. 0:20:45.480 --> 0:20:49.000 In speaking of that spiritual. I left tennis nine years 0:20:49.080 --> 0:20:52.200 ago with no We Connect on the other side, and 0:20:52.359 --> 0:20:55.080 there wasn't like I want to work in recovery. My 0:20:55.160 --> 0:20:57.240 heart told me I had more to offer this world 0:20:57.280 --> 0:21:02.080 than coaching superstars and expensive tennis ex experiences, and so 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:05.800 We Connect is a mobile application that has support and 0:21:05.880 --> 0:21:11.920 services and it's basically a lifeline, anonymous and confidential lifeline. 0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:15.400 Any mom and dad, brother sisters, support group meetings built 0:21:15.440 --> 0:21:19.840 in an app, and it's unbelievable. We've served millions of 0:21:19.880 --> 0:21:24.399 people from thirty countries currently and it's our job and 0:21:24.440 --> 0:21:27.320 our mission and at that at our organization is to 0:21:27.359 --> 0:21:28.000 help others. 0:21:29.760 --> 0:21:34.000 Luke, when you hear Murphy talk about what he's been through, 0:21:35.119 --> 0:21:37.200 how does that feel as an older brother? 0:21:38.000 --> 0:21:40.600 The number one thing is that recovery works. I'm a 0:21:40.640 --> 0:21:44.879 witness to that to see him grow. His weapon in 0:21:45.000 --> 0:21:48.080 tennis was his serve, but his weapon in life, his 0:21:48.119 --> 0:21:49.840 purpose in life is to serve others. 0:21:52.960 --> 0:21:56.399 When we return, Murphy Jentsen on turning his life around 0:21:56.920 --> 0:22:00.000 and just when he almost had it together, everything came 0:22:00.160 --> 0:22:01.160 crashing back down. 0:22:04.000 --> 0:22:06.760 And now Murphy's serving is looking at me and he's 0:22:06.800 --> 0:22:09.760 smiling because we're just having fun. He's setting up the 0:22:09.800 --> 0:22:14.520 serve and all of a sudden, he just crashes to 0:22:14.600 --> 0:22:17.840 the ground. He's gone into a cardiac arrest. 0:22:22.359 --> 0:22:31.320 Part of the game. We'll be right back and now 0:22:31.359 --> 0:22:37.800 back to part of the game. After their playing days ended, 0:22:38.160 --> 0:22:40.840 the Jensens both continued to stay involved in tennis in 0:22:40.920 --> 0:22:44.520 various ways. Luke Jensen went into TV as a tennis 0:22:44.520 --> 0:22:48.639 analyst for ESPN. He then coached the Syracuse University women's 0:22:48.680 --> 0:22:52.800 tennis team for nearly eight years. Murphy Jensen also maintained 0:22:52.800 --> 0:22:56.199 close ties with the sport while continuing his recovery and 0:22:56.240 --> 0:23:00.160 his work helping others with addiction. In twenty twenty one, 0:23:00.359 --> 0:23:03.600 the brothers were playing in a celebrity exhibition in Colorado 0:23:03.680 --> 0:23:07.080 for the Good Grand Slam, an event that raises money 0:23:07.119 --> 0:23:11.320 for sudden cardiac arrest awareness. As Murphy was getting ready 0:23:11.359 --> 0:23:14.439