The decision to withdraw from the French Open follows the tennis superstar's boycotting of post-match news conferences, citing mental health reasons
Four-time Grand Slam champion and current number two tennis player, Naomi Osaka officially withdraws from the French Open after she was fined US$15,000 for not meeting the press for her post-match news conference after her first-round win, citing mental health reasons.
Osaka won against Romanian player Patrica Maria Tig in the first round and while the Japanese-American superstar did a courtside post-match interview, she refused to attend the post-match news conference. On her decision, Osaka said: "I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes' mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one."
Due to this, she was warned that she could be thrown out of the French Open should she continue to refuse post-match news conference appearances. Osaka took it upon herself to withdraw from the tournament instead, posting a powerful statement on her Twitter about the need to look after her mental health.
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— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 31, 2021
"I think the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris," said the tennis champion.
"The truth is I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that. Though the tennis press has always been kind to me (and I want to apologise to all the cool journalists who I may have hurt), I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world's media. I get really nervous and find it stressful to always try to engage and give you the best answers I can."
Osaka's empowering statement raises questions on athletes' obligations to face the media, attracted support from her fellow athletes and even brought to light the need to focus on the mental well-being of players in the sporting world. Osaka has always been a vocal athlete—speaking on Black victims of police brutality and wearing masks that don their names during her previous tournaments, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, advocating for equal pay for women in sport, speaking out on #StopAsianHate and opening up the discussion of being biracial and identity in homogenous Japan.
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