PARIS: Japan’s tennis player Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the ongoing French Open following the bitter fall-out from her decision to boycott all media activity at the Grand Slam event.
“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,” world number two wrote on Twitter.
The four-time Grand Slam singles champion was fined $15,000 and threatened with disqualification after she did not conduct a post-match press conference following her first-round win against Romanian Patricia Maria Tig on Sunday.
World No 2 Osaka said she had suffered bouts of depression since winning her first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2018 and that talking to the media triggered anxiety.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 31, 2021
“I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer,” the four-time Grand Slam title winner said, adding, “The truth is I have suffered bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that.”
She added, “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 out-dated in parts and I wanted to highlight that.”
Osaka said she has also apologised to organisers over the affair which has dominated the early stages of the French Open ever since she warned last week that she would not carry out any media activity.
The four Grand Slam events — Wimbledon, the French, Australian and US Opens — said they had written to Osaka “to check on her well-being and offer support”.
Last Wednesday, citing mental health reasons, Osaka posted on social media she would not participate in any news conferences during the French Open, hoping that any fines she incurred would go toward a mental health charity.
