Monday, May 31, 2021

Naomi Osaka Withdraws From French Open, Citing Mental Health


Reeling from the unintended uproar she created by announcing she would flagrantly break the rules by not doing required press conferences, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the French Open. It's a shame that it's come to this, but if as she says her mental health is at stake by fulfilling her duties, I applaud her decision. 

Via Twitter:

 


I think Ben Rothenberg summed it up well here:


P.S. Twitter has become almost unviewable. (If you don't agree with someone completely, then they have "no business weighing in on" the topic. If you do agree with someone completely, have at it!) If I abruptly blocked or unfollowed you there, I did it for MY mental health.

P.S. The Wall Street Journal was on the Naomi Osaka situation two years ago. 

"[20somethings] report higher levels of anxiety. How managers can help them steer past fear and improve work performance—and how young workers can work to calm their anxiety and be more effective." 

2 comments:

Tennis Fan said...

Is she getting help for her mental issues? She says they've been going on since 2018 US Open- nearly 3 years... if she needed extra help on her backhand, I'm sure she'd get that. The press saying she's bad on clay.... do you remember some of the choice stuff the press said to Martina back in the 80s? Or some things fans screamed out DURING her match... 'dyke' 'commie bitch' etc...? People coddle the younger generations way too much. If she's having problems, she has the money- and time (especially last year- zoom therapy does happen) to do something about it.

j said...

If people can not handle the pressure of dealing with fame they should not go into professions which if the succeed will lead to dealing with the press- this is like a lot of actors who don't like attention once they become stars- now I'm not saying she has mental issues that she should deal with but I wonder how her sponsors feel? They don't pay her to hide in the locker room.