'I never wanted to be a distraction': Naomi Osaka withdraws from FrenchOpen
Less than a week ago, the Japanese-Haitian tennis star said that she would not attend any press conferences during the Open, citing mental health concerns as the reasoning behind her decision.
“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. We’re often sat there and asked questions that we’ve been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds,” she wrote in a statement posted to Twitter May 26. “I’ve watched many clips of athletes breaking down after a loss in the press room … I believe the whole situation is kicking a person while they’re down.
While Osaka said her decision to forgo press was “nothing personal” to the tournament, French Open organizers fined the tennis player US$15,000 on Sunday.Article content“Anyone that knows me knows I’m introverted,” wrote the Japanese tennis champion. “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 really stressful to always try and engage and give you the best answers I can.
The player also said that she has suffered long bouts of depression since the United States Open in 2018, and has had “a really hard time coping with that.”of the International Tennis Federation , unless a player is injured and cannot physically appear, they must attend a post-match media conference — whether they won or lost. Typically, these press conferences are held immediately after a match, or within 30 minutes of its conclusion.
“If the organizations think that they can just keep saying, ‘Do press or you’re gonna be fined,’ and continue to ignore the mental health of the athletes that are the centrepiece of their co-operation then I just gotta laugh,” said Osaka on Twitter last week, adding that she hoped the fines she incurred would go towards a mental health charity.
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