Osaka cites mental health for French Open press snub
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Naomi Osaka hopes the fines that she is expecting to receive for her intended media boycott at the French Open would go towards a mental health charity.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PARIS • Naomi Osaka on Wednesday said she will not take questions from the press at this year's French Open, saying the nature of news conferences puts an undue burden on players' mental health.
Players can be fined up to US$20,000 (S$26,470) for skipping a media conference at Grand Slams and Osaka said she hoped the "considerable amount" that she expected to be fined would go towards a mental health charity.
"I'm writing this to say I'm not going to do any press during Roland Garros," the Japanese world No. 2 wrote on Twitter.
"I've often felt that people have no regard for athletes' mental health and this rings 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 and I'm just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me."
Expecting players to answer questions after losses amounted to "kicking a person while they're down", the four-time Grand Slam champion added.
Osaka, 23, made headlines this week when sports business website Sportico reported she had earned US$55.2 million over the past 12 months, a record haul for a female athlete.
French Open qualifiers are under way with the main draw set to start on Sunday, with the men's singles final scheduled for June 13.
The clay-court Grand Slam, the second of the tennis season, has never been a happy hunting ground for Osaka, who skipped the event last year amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
She has not gone past the third round in her four appearances.
World governing body International Tennis Federation and the WTA Tour did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The French Tennis Federation, which organises the Major, told Reuters it would make "no comment for now".
A spokesman for Japanese car manufacturer Nissan Motor, one of Osaka's long list of sponsors, said it had no comment. Her other sponsors also did not respond to requests for comment.
Osaka said the decision was "nothing personal" against the tournament and noted she had a friendly relationship with many of the Tour's journalists. She hoped tournaments would reconsider their approach.
American Christian Harrison was fined US$3,000 by the ATP after refusing to take part in a mandatory on-court interview at the Delray Beach Open in January amid a dispute over mask wearing.
REUTERS