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Naomi Osaka withdraws from the French Open, focuses on mental health

By Justin Gincauskas

PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 30: Naomi Osaka of Japan talks as she is interviewed on court after winning her First Round match against Patricia Maria Tig of Romania during Day One of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros on May 30, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 30: Naomi Osaka of Japan talks as she is interviewed on court after winning her First Round match against Patricia Maria Tig of Romania during Day One of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros on May 30, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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In shocking news, Naomi Osaka announced on her Twitter account on Monday afternoon that she will be withdrawing from the French Open to focus on her mental health.

The withdrawal comes after Osaka sparked controversy in the tennis community last week for saying that she will not speak to the media at Roland Garros, citing the toll it takes on her mental health.

In the statement released Monday, Osaka said that she “never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer.” She also goes on to say that the she has “suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that.”

Many will remember that 2018 US Open, where Naomi Osaka won her first Grand Slam title, defeating Serena Williams in the controversial final, where Serena got into several arguments with the chair umpire, and that led to the crowd booing during the trophy ceremony for Osaka. You can read more on that 2018 final here.

Here is the full statement from Osaka’s twitter account regarding her withdrawal from Roland Garros.

Naomi Osaka won her first-round match at the French Open on Sunday, defeating Patricia Maria Tig in straight sets. After the match, she was fined $15,000 for avoiding to speak to the media after her victory. Osaka was scheduled to play Ana Bogdan on Wednesday in the second round, but now after she has withdrawn from the tournament, Bogdan will receive a walkover and advance to the third round.

With Wimbledon set to begin in exactly four weeks, it is unclear whether or not Osaka will be ready to compete by the end of June. All of us just hope that she is doing well, and that she takes all the time that she needs to improve her mental health. When the time is right and she decides to come back to the sport, we hope that the entire tennis community will welcome her back with open arms, and that the tournaments can create better media rules so that this does not happen again.

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