Naomi Osaka did not seem to have gathered many fans after she publicly said that she will not attend the press conference during the Roland Garros citing mental health issues.
While many on social media have criticized Naomi Osaka’s decision, the WTA and the French Open release some statements expressing their disagreement with Naomi’s stance.
Obviously, tennis players have been asked to comment about this situation. While they try not to criticize the Japanese sensation, it seems that there is a rather shared consensus that the press is important and it is the duty of professional players to attend the press conferences.
Novak Djokovic and Ashleigh Barty also stressed the fact that participating in press conferences is part of their profession. Rafael Nadal went one step further saying that the press and the media are key for the development of the sport.
Rafa commented:
“I respect her, of course, as an athlete and her personality. I respect her decision.
We need to be ready to accept the questions and to try to produce an answer. Without the people writing the news and achievements that we are having around the world, probably we will not be the athletes that we are today.
I have my point of view that the media is a very important part of our sport.”
Rafael Nadal in 2021
Currently ranked no.3, Rafael played his last match on the 16th of May when he overcame world no.1 Novak Djokovic 7-5 1-6 6-3 in the final in Rome to win his 88th career title.
Currently, during this year Rafael has managed to achieve a 18-3 match record. Nadal conquered 2 titles in 2021 in Barcelona and in Rome.
Naomi Osaka in 2021
Ranked world no.2, Osaka played her last match on the 12th of May when she lost to world no.29 Jessica Pegula 7-6(2) 6-2 in the 2nd round in Rome (draw).
This season Osaka achieved an overall 13-3 match record. The Japanese clinched 1 title at the Australian Open.
Djokovic in Belgrade, ranking, and results in 2021
Ranked no.1, Novak has managed to achieve a compiled 18-3 match record in 2021. Novak is playing at the moment in Belgrade where he conquered Mats Moraing 6-2 7-64 and Federico Coria 6-1 6-0.
Novak Djokovic will face the world no.119 Andrej Martin in the semifinal on Friday at 2:00 pm on CENTER COURT. They have never competed against each other till now in top competitions.
Novak has won 1 title in 2021 at the Australian Open. The Serbian got to the final in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia).
Novak won 83 titles in his career: 49 on hard courts, 15 on clay courts, 13 on indoor courts and 6 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Ashleigh Barty in 2021
Currently the world no.1, the Australian played her last match on the 14th of May when she had to retire when playing against world no.25 Cori Gauff in the quarter and the scoreline was 4-6 1-2 .
This year the Australian has a 27-5 match record. The Australian has won 3 titles in 2021 in Melbourne, in Miami and in Stuttgart. Barty was the runner-up in Madrid.
