Depression and anxiety can be very challenging especially for athletes who are still struggling with the uphill climb to success. Such a challenge was what rising Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka faced, ultimately forcing her to bow out of this year’s French Open after being fined $15,000 for failing to meet her media requirements.
Osaka announced her decisions via her Twitter feed on June 1st, stating how she didn’t want to serve as a distraction from other competing players of the tournament and that her withdrawal will be best for her well-being. She further said “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.”
The troubled Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Singles No. 2 seed earlier sent feelers that she would not be a part of mandatory interviews at Roland-Garros 2021, which prompted event officials to check on the tennis star and hear out her issues regarding the matter--but to no avail. What followed was an outpouring of support from all Grand Slam tournaments that included the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, aside from Roland-Garros signifying concerns on Osaka’s well-being. French Open organizers, however, earlier reminded the star of her player commitments and the consequences should she not comply. The imposed $15,000 fine was in accordance with article III H. of the French Open’s Code of Conduct.
Osaka’s rocky road to prominence
Naomi Osaka was born to her Japanese mother and Haitian father and had moved to the States at the early age of three. Her tennis popularity began when she started playing professionally in 2013, showcasing her powerful serves and forehand that registered impressive speeds of up to 201.1 kilometers per hour during the 2016 US Open.
Even earlier, in 2014, Osaka had already qualified for the WTA tour championship where she was able to defeat then-No. 19th seed and 2011 US Open Champion Samantha Stosur of Australia during the first round. Soon, the young tennis sensation qualified for her first Grand Slam at the 2016 Australian Open making her way to the third round where she was able to do the same at the US Open and into the main draw of the French Open that same year.
Later that year, Osaka went on to earn a wildcard entry at the Toray Pan Pacific Open where she was recognized as the first Japanese woman to reach the WTA final since Kimiko Date won the tournament in 1995, and given the WTA ‘Breakthrough of the Month’ title despite bowing down to Danish Caroline Wozniacki.
For such an extraordinary year of accomplishments in 2016, Osaka was awarded ‘Newcomer of the Year’ during the WTA Awards, though the following year saw Osaka struggling a bit to regain her rankings which stuck at No. 44 and later dropped to No. 68.
In 2017, she failed to win more than two main draw contests and settled for a year best of being a round of 16 qualifier at the Canadian Open where she also suffered an abdominal injury during a match she lost to then No.1 Karolína Plíšková of Czechia.
Despite a lackluster performance in 2017, Osaka managed to reach the third round of both Wimbledon and the US Open, where she defeated defending champion Angelique Kerber of Germany during the first round of matches.
A good showing
Being the first Japanese woman to win the Indian Wells Masters in 2018 also put Osaka in the ‘players to watch out for’ books, considering that the tournament is considered to be the second-largest event in tennis behind the Grand Slam. The following year, Osaka entered the Australian Open as the No. 4 seed where she made the final against Czech Petra Kvitová, winning the championship and earning the distinction of becoming the first woman to win consecutive Grand Slam singles titles after Serena Williams in 2015. She then became the first Asian player to rank No. 1 in the world in singles that year.
Following a separation with her former coach Sascha Bajin after the Australian Open, Osaka played four tournaments last year before the pandemic shuttered events. When the tournaments resumed, Osaka played back-to-back matches at the Cincinnati Open and the US Open, where she won all of her contests. She defeated four players in the Cincinnati Open before retiring due to a hamstring injury during the final against Victória Fyódorovna Azárenk of Belarus, who she also met during the US Open final. On that occasion, Osaka redeemed herself to become the first player to win the women’s singles event final coming from one set down since 1994. Unfortunately, due to her chronic hamstring injury, Osaka had to withdraw from last year’s French Open.
Activism and depression
As early as her Cincinnati Open participation, Osaka had already been drawing attention to herself particularly in her stance on social activism. She initially begged off on the tour’s semifinal citing her protest against the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The unfortunate incident also ignited protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after the District Attorney dismissed charges on a white police officer who shot the 29-year-old African-American man seven times in the back while he was outside an apartment complex. The incident left Blake partially paralyzed.
Eventually, the tour extended their support for Osaka who went on to play in her matches. However, the media and organizers started questioning the No. 2 seed’s behavior at the US Open where she wore various black masks in seven of her matches, each displaying names of African-Americans controversial for being victims of injustice.
Despite a good showing early this year, Osaka will soon cite mental health issues as the main reason for her withdrawal from the French Open. Earlier she had defeated the likes of No.1 seed in doubles Hsieh Su-Wei (Taiwan), former No. 1 in singles Serena Williams (US), and No. 22 seed Jennifer Brady (US) in the final to claim her second Australian Open title. With the win, she joined the ranks of tennis legends Roger Federer and Monica Seles, who won their first four Grand Slam finals.
At the Miami Open, she made it to the quarterfinals winning four games before losing to No. 17 Maria Sakkari of Greece, preventing her from securing the No. 1 ranking.
At the height of Roland-Garros fever, Osaka claimed that “people have no regard for athletes’ mental health” and expressed her disdain for how the event imposes its media requirements. She later said that the organization is ignoring the mental health of players, which ultimately led her to decide to call off her participation.
On the part of the French Open, officials state their continued support for Osaka stating that they wish her the best and quickest possible recovery and that the organization is committed to every players’ well-being and tournament experience.
Hopefully, Osaka will recover and reconcile with the tournament by next year as she continues her string of impressive victories without further controversy. If you want to learn more about the world of tennis and Marc Pulisci please click here.
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