Tennis player Ash Barty defended the doubles bronze medal she and partner John Peers won without even stepping on court and reinforced the importance of mental health for athletes after Novak Djokovic’s abrupt withdrawal from Tokyo handed them third place.

But even though Djokovic withdrew on Saturday citing a shoulder injury after a hard-fought battle for bronze in the men’s singles game that he lost to Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, the Australian couple “came really close” to making the gold medal final and merited the bronze, Barty said.