Naomi Osaka Announces That She’s Withdrawing from French Open
Tennis star Naomi Osaka announced on social media that she is withdrawing from the French Open. This comes a day after she was fined $15,000 for not speaking to the media. According to ESPN, she skipped a “mandatory” news conference after her first-round win at the French Open on Sunday. On May 26, she announced on social media that she wasn’t going to do press.
In an Instagram post earlier today (May 31), she said, “Hey everyone, this isn’t a situation I ever imagined or intended… I think now 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. I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer. More importantly l would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly. The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that. Anyone that knows me knows I’m introverted, and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety.”
She also said, “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 to engage and give you the best answers I can. So here in Paris I was already feeling vulnerable and anxious so I thought it was better to exercise self-care and skip the press conferences. I announced it preemptively because I do feel like the rules are quite outdated in parts and I wanted to highlight that. I wrote privately to the tournament apologizing and saying that I would be more than happy to speak with them after the tournament as the Slams are intense. I’m gonna take some time away from the court now, but when the time is right I really want to work with the Tour to discuss ways we can make things better for the players, press and fans.”
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 26, 2021
