Naomi Osaka Withdraws From French Open

The twists and turns of women’s tennis came to an unexpected and unwelcome head on Monday when Naomi Osaka abruptly withdrew from the French Open.

She is the highest-paid female athlete in the world and is the reigning champion at the U.S. Open and Australian Open - two of her four Grand Slam titles. She’s also the first Asian woman to ever be ranked No. 1 in the world. And now she has left a Grand Slam tournament because of a confrontation with the officials who run that tournament.

Threatened With Disqualification

The incident between Osaka and officials at Roland Garros began on Sunday after she won her first-round match but skipped her mandatory news conference. As a result, she was fined $15,000 and told that if she missed any other media obligations that stiffer punishments would follow, including the possibility of disqualification.

Osaka issued a statement that said she wouldn’t participate in any news conferences because they were a stress on her mental health. The four Grand Slams issued a joint statement in return, saying the requirement to meet with the media is a matter of fairness, and all players must follow the rules.

“We want to underline that rules are in place to ensure all players are treated exactly the same, no matter their stature, beliefs, or achievement.

“As a sport, there is nothing more important than ensuring no player has an unfair advantage over another, which unfortunately is the case in this situation if one player refuses to dedicate time to participate in media commitments while the others honor their commitments.”

Osaka Issues Lengthy Withdrawal Statement

Opting to stop fighting French Open officials, Osaka made the decision to withdraw from the tournament before her second-round match.

“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. The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the U.S. Open in 2018, and I have had a really hard time coping with that.”

This is the first time in memory that a player as important to tennis as Osaka is, and without suffering a physical injury, has withdrawn from an event on the scale of the French Open.

The president of the French Federation of Tennis, Gilles Moretton, issued this statement in the wake of Osaka’s withdrawal.

“We are sorry and sad for Naomi Osaka and wish her the quickest possible recovery. We remain very committed to all athletes’ well-being and to continually improving every aspect of players’ experience in our tournament, including with the media, like we have always strived to do.”

With Osaka gone from the tournament, fellow competitors saw their odds to win drop at the sportsbooks’ tennis odds. Osaka has as low a price as +800 coming into the event.

Support from Fellow Players

Serena Williams understands the mental toll the spotlight can take better than anyone, and she was quick to speak on behalf of her competitor.

“I feel for Naomi. Not everyone is the same. I’m thick. Other people are thin. Everyone is different, and everyone handles things differently.

“You just have to let her handle it the way she wants to and the best way she thinks she can. That’s the only thing I can say. I think she is doing the best she can.”

Williams also acknowledged that she has also been in some “very difficult” post-match press conferences, and in the end, they made her stronger.

Martina Navratilova was also quick to support Osaka, writing on Twitter: “I am so sad about Naomi Osaka. I truly hope she will be ok. As athletes, we are taught to take care of our body, and perhaps the mental and emotional aspect gets short shrift. This is about more than doing or not doing a press conference. Good luck, Naomi - we are pulling for you.”

Hall of Fame player and commentator Pam Shriver was quick to condemn the governing bodies for their statement.

“They needed to be more compassionate and supportive. They’ll never say it, but I’m sure they’d like to have it back. They lost one of the superstars of the game.”