Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka shocked the entire tennis fraternity on Monday evening when she withdrew from the 2021 French Open in Paris after encountering flak from all sides because of the media boycott at Roland Garros.
The Japanese number 2 in the world had defeated the Romanian Patricia Maria Tig on Sunday in the first round of the women with 6: 4: 7: 6 (4) was fined $ 15,000 for failing to show up for the post-game press conference.
Osaka said ahead of the French Open that she would not attend the mandatory media interviews after her games at Roland Garros, citing mental health issues. The Board of Grand Slam tournaments even tried to get in touch with Osaka to learn a little more about their stance, but the highest paid female athlete in the world refused to cooperate with them.
Osaka was due to play another Romanian, Ana Bogdan, in the second round on June 2nd.
OSAKA’S DECLARATION
– NaomiOsaka (@naomiosaka) May 31, 2021
The 23-year-old posted a statement on Twitter announcing her decision to end the tournament.
“Hi everyone, this is not a situation I ever imagined or intended when I posted a few days ago. I think the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well being is that I am backing off with it anyone can get it back to focusing on tennis in Paris.
“I never wanted to be a distraction. I accept that my timing was not ideal and that my message could have been clearer. More importantly, I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly.
“The truth is, I’ve had depression for a long time since the US Open in 2018 and I’ve found it very difficult to deal with. Everyone who knows me knows I’m an introvert and everyone who joins me Has seen tournaments, will notice. ” that I often wear headphones as it relieves my social anxiety.
“While the tennis press has always been kind to me (and I especially want to apologize to all the cool journalists I may have hurt), I am not a natural speaker and get waves of fear before speaking to the world’s media. I get very nervous and stressful always trying to get involved and give you the best answers I can.
“So I was already feeling vulnerable and scared here in Paris, so I thought it would be better to take care of yourself and skip the press conferences. I announced it as a precaution because I felt that some of the rules are quite out of date and i wanted to highlight that.
“I wrote privately to the tournament, apologizing and saying that I would be more than happy to speak to them after the tournament as the slams are intense. I’ll take some time now, but when the time is right , I will.” I really want to work with the tour to see how we can make things better for the players, the press and the fans. Anyway, I hope you are all well and safe, I love you. I’ll see you when I see you. “
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