Naomi Osaka attracted attention all over the world for announcing that she will refuse to attend any press conference during the French Open, citing mental health.
The Japanese sensation didn’t receive the support of her colleagues that stressed the fact that participating to press conferences and interacting with the media is an essential part of their job. Rafael Nadal was quite explicit that tennis is in this strong position also and especially thanks to the hype generated by the media.
The WTA and Roland Garros also criticized the Naomi Osaka decision. The French Tennis Federation (FFT) President Gilles Moretton labeled Naomi Osaka’s decision as a “phenomenal error.”
The Tweet
The official account of the French Open posted and then deleted a rather explicit message aimed at Naomi Osaka showing the images of some top players attending the press conferences anticipating the French Open. The message was “They understood their assignment”
Naomi will play her first match in Paris on Sunday at 11am against Maria Tig. It doesn’t seem as there is too much love between Naomi and the French Open. An upset is not to be ruled out.
Naomi Osaka will not be speaking to media at the French Open.
Instead she’ll be receiving sub-tweets from the #Rolandgarros account. (Tweet now deleted.) pic.twitter.com/b83dpyXN1k
— Analis Bailey (@analisbailey) May 29, 2021
Naomi Osaka in 2021
Now ranked no.2, Osaka played her last match on the 12th of May when she was defeated by world no.29 Jessica Pegula 7-6(2) 6-2 in the 2nd round in Rome (draw).
This season the Japanese owns an overall 13-3 record. The Japanese clinched 1 title at the Australian Open.
Naomi Osaka |
| Embed from Getty Images |
