Tennis: Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open; cites mental health concerns

Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open

Naomi Osaka decided her mental well-being was more important than any tennis tournament ... more important than -- gasp -- talking to the press.

The world's No. 1-ranked woman tennis player withdrew from the French Open after refusing to take part in press conferences between matches.

She admitted that she has been battling "long bouts of depression" since winning her first Grand Slam at the U.S. Open in 2018.

Being a natural introvert, she has had difficulty speaking to the press since she began winning Grand Slams. In one instance, she excused herself from a press conference because she was "about to cry," she said.

After her victory over Romania's Patricia Maria Tig Sunday at the French Open, she skipped the after-match press conference and was fined $15,000.

On Monday, she issued a long social media post. 

"This isn't a situation I ever imagined or intended when I posted a few days ago," Osaka said in her statement.

"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 I 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.

"Though the tennis press has always been kind to me (and I wanna apologize especially to all the cool journalists who I may have hurt), 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 try 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"I announced it preemptively because I do feel like the rules are quite outdated in parts and I wanted to highlight that.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."

After she didn't show up at the press conference, the French Tennis Federation issued a statement on social media with pictures of other tennis players with the caption, "They understood the assignment."

The statement was deleted after strong criticism of the attempt to humiliate the 23-year old Osaka. The FTF, along with officials from the Australian Open and WImbledon and the World Tennis Association offered solace and wished her well in her recovery.

On top of her reluctance to speak to the media and -- like so many biracial people -- she has struggled with her identity. In 2020, she had to choose between playing for Japan, the land of mother, or the United States, where she was raised and where she lives. She eventually chose to play for Japan.

In 2020, she felt compelled to speak. out about the killings of Blacks by police and vigilantes by wearing the names of the victims on her face mask when she played (and won) the U.S. Open.

Last year into this year, like everyone else, had to observe the medical restrictions caused by the pandemic. And because of her Japanese heritage, contend with the enormous stress caused by the coronavirus, the killings of Blacks by police and the racist attacks against people of Asian descent.

With all that weighing on the mind of the young tennis player's, it is not surprising that Osaka was being affected. 

Mental health stigma affects all ethnicities, cultures, and nationalities, but Asian Americans may be more impacted than most. The National Latino and Asian American Study reported that while 18% of the general U.S. population sought mental health services and resources, only 8.6% of Asian Americans did so.

Other sports figures, including Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry and Seahaks quarterback Russell Wilson sent messages of support.\ to Osaka. 

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova tweeted Monday about Osaka's decision.
"I truly hope she will be ok," Navratilova tweeted. "As athletes we are taught to take care of our body, and perhaps the mental & emotional aspect gets short shrift. This is about more than doing or not doing a press conference."