Tennis-Osaka finds support after decision to skip press at French Open (updated)

Nissin

27/05/2021 01:20

(Adds more reaction)
    By Julien Pretot
    PARIS, May 27 (Reuters) - Naomi Osaka received support from
several athletes on Thursday but was slammed by French Tennis
Federation (FFT) President Gilles Moretton after saying she
would not attend press conferences at this year's French Open.
     Having said that the nature of the questions puts an undue
burden on players' mental health, four-times Grand Slam champion
Osaka was supported by rival Iga Swiatek's sports psychologist.
    Retired Fomula One champion Nico Rosberg, former tennis
player Zina Garrison and British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith also
lent support to world number two Osaka. 
    "Naomi Osaka has a point, but it is two side to this coin,"
Garrison tweeted.
    "She will be able to pay for the fine most Athletes can't.
Love you are bring awareness to mental health in sports. Come
together with all sides and work on a solution now."  
    Rosberg told Reuters on Thursday: "I think it’s quite a
ballsy step again from her. I can understand because when I was
on my way to the championship… I switched everything off. No
media, no news, no emails,"
    But Moretton had no sympathy for Osaka.
    "It's a deep regret, for you journalists, for her (Naomi
Osaka) personally and for tennis in general," Moretton said.
    "I think this is a phenomenal mistake. It shows to what
extent today (the need) that there is strong governance in
tennis. 
    "What is happening there is, in my opinion, not acceptable.
We will stick to the laws and rules for penalties and fines."
    Brazilian Indy Car driver Tony Kanaan concurred with
Moretton.
    "I find this day relaxing instead of focusing on the race,"
Kanaan said at the Indy 500 media day. "Some people hate the
media. 
    "I think it’s silly. It’s not about you, the sport will
survive. Somebody else will do those interviews."
    According to the Grand Slam rule book, players can be fined
up to $20,000 for skipping a media conference but Osaka said she
was ready to accept any sanction.
    Osaka hoped the "considerable amount" that she expected to
forfeit would go towards a mental health charity.
    "I'm writing this to say I'm not going to do any press
during Roland Garros," Japan's Osaka, who lives in the United
States, 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," she added.
    "We're often sat there and asked questions that we've been
asked multiple times before, and I'm just not going to subject
myself to people that doubt me." 
    Sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz, who works with French
Open winner Swiatek, said she appreciated Osaka's concern about
facing questions after a defeat.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2NE14R
    "I absolutely understand the decision in terms of when a
player loses a match, and tennis is such a specific sport
because at the end of the tournament only one person does not
lose," she told Reuters on Thursday.
    "It's tough emotionally to cope with it; it is one of the
challenges that tennis brings. It's sometimes overwhelming."
    
    MENTAL HEALTH
    Mental health problems have been a point of discussion since
the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when the tours
started operating in front of empty stands after a five-month
shutdown.
    Earlier this year, Frenchman Benoit Paire, a former top-20
player, said he was "mentally exhausted" by life on the tour
amid the COVID-19 restrictions and found no joy in playing
without fans.
    Osaka, 23, made headlines this week when sports business
website Sportico reported she had earned $55.2 million over the
past 12 months, a record haul for a female athlete.
    She has in the past used her platform and considerable press
attention to highlight issues of police violence and racial
inequality.
    The French Open, which starts on Sunday, has never been a
happy hunting ground for Osaka, who skipped the event last year
amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She has not got past the third round
in four appearances.
    The International Tennis Federation and the WTA Tour did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.
    The French tennis federation FFT, which organises the major,
told Reuters it would make "no comment for now".
    "As a sponsor, we respect the feelings and will of the
athletes," Japanese instant noodle-maker Nissin, one of Osaka's
top sponsors, said in a statement sent to Reuters.
    "However, we are not in a position to comment on their
individual opinions and actions, so we will refrain from doing
so."
    A spokeswoman for Japanese car manufacturer Nissan Motor
said it had no comment while an All Nippon Airways spokesman
declined to comment. Osaka's other sponsors did not respond to
requests for comment.
    

 (Reporting by Julien Pretot, Rory Carroll and Sudipto Ganguly;
additional reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu, Rocky Swift, Maki
Shiraki, Ritsuko Shimizo, Zoran Milosavljevic and Lewis Franck;
editing by Richard Pullin and Ed Osmond)
 ((Rory.Carroll@thomsonreuters.com; 503-830-8017;))