French Open slammed for ‘hypocritical’ response to Naomi Osaka’s mental health concerns

Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open on Monday, citing her mental health. The French Tennis Federation (FFT) has now released a response to her unexpected withdrawal. It isn’t great.

Last Wednesday Osaka announced she would not be doing any of the usual post-match press during the tournament in order to protect her mental wellbeing. Acknowledging that she would likely be fined for this decision, the current World No. 2 expressed a desire that the money would go toward a mental health charity.

“I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes [sic] mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one,” Osaka wrote in a note she shared on Twitter. “I’ve watched many clips of athletes breaking down after a loss in a press room and I know you have as well. I believe the whole situation is kicking a person while they’re down and I don’t understand the reasoning behind it.”

As predicted, the FFT did indeed fine Osaka, demanding she pay $15,000 for failing to attend a press conference after her win over Romania’s Patricia Tig on Sunday. 

It didn’t stop there though. All four Grand Slam tournaments also released a joint statement threatening to suspend Osaka from future tournaments if she continued to “ignore her media obligations.”

“The mental health of players competing in our tournaments and on the Tours is of the utmost importance to the Grand Slams,” they said in the joint statement, before almost immediately contradicting themselves. “As a sport there is nothing more important than ensuring no player has an unfair advantage over another, which unfortunately is the case in this situation if one player refuses to dedicate time to participate in media commitments while the others all honour their commitments.”

Or you could make post-match press conferences optional and allow all athletes to choose whether they’d like to participate. Just a thought.

It seemed as though Osaka had two choices. She could either force herself to attend press conferences despite the harm to her mental health, or continue avoiding them and risk further fines and suspensions. Instead, she took a third option: withdrawing from the French Open entirely.

“The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the U.S. Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that,” Osaka wrote in an announcement of her withdrawal on Monday. 

Osaka beat her idol Serena Williams in straight sets to win the 2018 U.S. Open and take her first Grand Slam title. Unfortunately, this victory was severely marred by a stadium full of spectators booing and jeering at Osaka’s win, furious at perceived unfair treatment of Williams by the referee.

“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,” Osaka wrote. “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.”

Many fans and fellow athletes have expressed support for Osaka, including Venus Williams, Usain Bolt, and Coco Gauff. Though it is disappointing that she won’t be competing, people have generally been understanding and sympathetic.

Meanwhile, the FFT’s response to Osaka’s withdrawal has been slammed as hypocritical, and pushed already raised eyebrows right beneath the hairline. Speaking to the press in both English and French on Monday, FFT President Gilles Moretton read a four-sentence prepared statement that was subsequently published to the Roland-Garros website.

“First and foremost, we are sorry and sad for Naomi Osaka,” said Moretton. “The outcome of Naomi withdrawing from Roland-Garros is unfortunate. We wish her the best and the quickest possible recovery, and we look forward to having Naomi at our Tournament next year.

“As all the Grand Slams, the WTA, the ATP and the ITF, we remain very committed to all athletes’ well-being and to continually improving every aspect of players’ experience in our Tournament, including with the Media, like we have always strived to do.”

That’s it. It’s a stark contrast to Sunday’s lengthy, justification-filled missive threatening Osaka’s career.

Moretton then exited without taking any questions from the press — an irony that was not lost on many tennis fans.

It’s good that Osaka is prioritising her mental health. It’s also good that she is in a position to do so, unlike many others forced to slog through the workday for fear of not making rent. 

However, this doesn’t mitigate the fact that she was forced to withdraw from an important tournament and lost significant opportunities because an organisation refused to accommodate her health needs. 

The Grand Slams claim they wish to avoid giving one player an advantage over the other. Yet forcing Osaka to speak to the press despite knowing of the toll on her mental health would actively put her at a disadvantage. Being unable to attend a press conference does not render a person unable to play tennis. 

If the French Open really is about tennis, and not spectacle, the FFT would do well to remember this.