On May 26, Sister2Sister reported that pro tennis player Naomi Osaka released a statement saying she would not be doing any press during the French Open. Now, she has decided to withdraw from the tournament entirely.
The four-time Grand Slam singles champion was being serious in her decision to not engage with the press and was given a $15,000 fine after she did not conduct a post-match press conference during the French Open following her first-round win on May 30.
After Osaka’s absence, a statement was released on behalf of all four Grand Slam tournaments that read, “The Roland-Garros teams asked her to reconsider her position and tried unsuccessfully to speak with her to check on her well-being, understand the specifics of her issue and what might be done to address it on site.”
“We have advised Naomi Osaka that should she continue to ignore her media obligations during the tournament, she would be exposing herself to possible further Code of Conduct infringement consequences. As might be expected, repeat violations attract tougher sanctions, including default from the tournament (Code of Conduct Article III T.) and the trigger of a major offense investigation that could lead to more substantial fines and future Grand Slam suspensions (Code of Conduct article IV A.3.).”
Osaka then tweeted her response to the backlash she had received, saying, “anger is a lack of understanding. change makes people uncomfortable.”
anger is a lack of understanding. change makes people uncomfortable.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 30, 2021
The tennis star later released an in-depth statement on her current status via her Twitter account and announced that she would be withdrawing from the tournament altogether.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 31, 2021
In her announcement, she shared that she “never wanted to be a distraction,” and she can accept that her timing wasn’t ideal.
Osaka also revealed that she wrote a private letter to the tournament officials apologizing and shared that once the tournament is over, she would be happy to speak with them about improving players’ experience going forward.
