Sharing their support. After Naomi Osaka announced she was pulling out of the French Open, her fellow athletes and several actors praised her decision via social media.
The athlete, 23, decided to leave the Grand Slam tournament on Monday, May 31, after a dispute with organizers over her participation in press conferences throughout the event.
The tennis star, currently ranked number two in the world, said on Wednesday (May 26) that she will not participate in post-match news seminars to protect her mental health. Within hours, a French Open umpire fined her $15,000, and the leaders of the four Grand Slam tournaments threatened to kick her out of the tournament if she continued her boycott.
A day after winning her first-round match on Sunday, May 30, Osaka announced that she was pulling out of the gap.
“This is not the situation I imagined or intended when I posted a few days ago,” she wrote on Instagram. “I think now the best thing for the tournament, for the other players and for my own well-being, is that I draw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis that’s going on in Paris. I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing wasn’t perfect and that my message could have been clearer.”
The former Vogue cover star added that her first statement was not meant to “trivialise mental health”, particularly as she herself had been “experiencing long bouts of depression” as she competed at the 2018 US Open, where she beat Serena Williams to win her first Grand Slam .
This success was famously spoiled by the crowd, who started booing during the trophy ceremony.
“I felt a bit sad because I wasn’t sure if they would boo me if it wasn’t the outcome they wanted,” Osaka told the Today show. “And then I could sympathize because I’ve been a fan of Serena all my life and I understood how badly the crowd wanted her to win.”
Prior to Monday’s retirement, the Japanese-born celebrity did not open up about her struggles with depression.
“Anyone who knows me knows I’m an introvert, and anyone who’s seen me at the championships will have noticed that I often wear headphones because it helps relieve social stress,” she continued in her post. “While the tennis media has always been kind to me (and I don’t want to apologize especially to any trendy journalists I may have offended), I’m not a natural public speaker and I also get huge waves of anxiety when I’m talking to the world’s media.”
She ended by announcing that she was “going to take some time in the courtroom right now,” adding that she wanted to continue the conversation about the players’ mental well-being later.
“When the time is right, I really want to work with the Tour to look at ways we can make things better for players, journalists and fans,” she wrote. “Anyway I hope you are all well and safe, I love you guys, see you when I visit”
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: newstars.edu.vn