French Open: For ensuring better mental health, Naomi Osaka decides to boycott media
May 27, 2021
New Delhi [India], May 27 : Japan tennis player Naomi Osaka on Thursday said she would not be taking part in press conferences during the French Open in order to ensure better mental health.
The 23-year-old also said some post-match interviews just do the job of "kicking a person while they are down". The world-number two also revealed that she will be donating the fines she suffers to a mental health charity.
"I am writing this to say that I am not going to do any press during Roland Garros. I have 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," Osaka said in a statement on Twitter.
"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 am not going to subject myself to people who doubt me," she added.
Further in her statement, Osaka said: "I believe the whole situation is kicking a person while they are down and I don't understand the reasoning behind it."
"Anyways, I hope the considerable amount that I get fined for this will go towards a mental health charity," she added.
Under tennis tournament rules, all players are required and obligated to hold press conferences after each match.
Earlier this year, Osaka had won her second Australian Open title after defeating Jennifer Brady in the finals. This was her fourth Grand Slam win.
