Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open due to her "Mental Health"

Late last week, Naomi Osaka, announced that she will be withdrawing from the French Open Tournament. With a statement on Twitter, she expressed that it was for her mental health and the issue of disregarding it within her profession. Naomi Osaka wrote, “I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athlete’s mental health,” adding, “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.”

Due to Naomi Osaka overlooking her responsibilities she has not only received backlash but a fine of $15,000. Roland Garros expressed on his website that prior to fining her, they tried to reach out and speak on the behalf of her struggles. Further expressing that the mental health of their athletes is an extremely important topic, and they have numerous outlets for them to use if they are struggling. According to Roland Garros, they were met with Naomi Osaka’s shortfall of engagement. In addition to the statement about the fine, it was revealed that it was all their duties to not allow one player to have an advantage over the other, which they felt Naomi had with the absence of her at the press conference.

Naomi Osaka took to Twitter once again and practically laughed at the fine. She reveals that she has suffered from depression on top of her social anxiety since the US Open in 2018 and due to her already unsettled mind, felt that it was in her best interest to not attend the press conference. On account of such a large distraction from the French Open Tournament, she decided to withdraw all together. While receiving major backlash, there are others that share her sorrow. Gilles Moretton states that he feels sorry for Naomi and wishes her the best, adding that he is looking forward to having her next year at the tournament.