Source: Johnny Louis/WENN.com / WENN
Naomi Osaka is speaking the truth and living in her light, despite backlash from the French Open.
The famed tennis champ opened up about the mental health of athletes forced to do press interviews after intense matches, just before publicly opting out of all press during this year’s Parisian competition. After bussing *ss on the court, the 23-year-old did just as she promised and was fined a hefty $15,000 for the move. And, when #they threatened to suspend her, she removed herself from the French Open entirely.
Hitting Instagram, Naomi explained in part:
“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. Anyone that knows me knows I’m introverted, and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety. Though the tennis press has always been kind to me (and I wanna apologize especially to all the cool journalists who I may have hurt), I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world’s media.”
“I get really nervous and find it stressful to always try to engage and give you the best answers I can,” she went on. “So here in Paris I was already feeling vulnerable and anxious so I thought it was better to exercise self-care and skip the press conferences. I announced it preemptively because I do feel like the rules are quite outdated in parts and I wanted to highlight that. I wrote privately to the tournament apologizing and saying that I would be more than happy to speak with them after the tournament as the Slams are intense. I’m gonna take some time away from the court now, but when the time is right I really want to work with the Tour to discuss ways we can make things better for the players, press and fans. Anyways hope you are all doing well and staying safe, love you guys I’ll see you when I see you.”
See her full message below. Here at Global Grind we stand with Naomi and support the very important and timely message she is bringing awareness to. Keep scrolling for more appreciation photos and keep her in your prayers.
