The COVID-19 pandemic deeply affected social and economic life around the world. To protect public health, many countries enforced lockdowns that limited access to services and institutions. These changes, according to the World Health Organization, worsened mental health, increasing anxiety and depression for many people.

The paper “Beyond the Game: Well-being Amid Life Disruptions Among Elite Athletes” by Maria Luisa M. Guinto of the Department of Sports Science, College of Human Kinetics, University of the Philippines Diliman, and Denise F. Ang of the Sports Psychology Unit, Philippine Sports Commission, was written to address the lack of research from developing countries on how athletes coped during the pandemic. Since most studies focused on Europe and the US, the authors explored the impact of the pandemic on the well-being of Filipino athletes under the country’s strict and extended COVID-19 lockdowns which led to canceled events, closed facilities, and limited interaction with their coaches and teams.

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