Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka has announced that she is withdrawing from the French Open after being fined for declining to speak to the press during the tournament.
The four-time grand slam champion cited mental health struggles – namely anxiety and depression – for why she chose not to do media interviews and her subsequent withdrawal.
‘I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly,’ wrote Naomi. ‘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.’
‘I am not a natural public speaker and I get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world’s media.’
