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Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka plans to skip doing any press when she competes in the French Open, and took to Instagram to explain why.
“Hey everyone, hope you’re doing well, I’m writing this to say I’m not doing any press during Roland-Garros,” she begins, using the official title of what’s commonly known as the French Open.
“I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes’ mental health, and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one,” she continues.
“We’re often sat there and asked questions that we’ve been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I’m just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me,” adds the 23-year-old tennis phenom.
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“I’ve watched many clips of athletes breaking down after a loss in the press room and I know you have as well. I believe that whole situation is kicking a person while they’re down and I don’t understand the reasoning behind it,” she states.
“Me not doing press is nothing personal to the tournament and a couple journalists have interviewed me since I was young so I have a friendly relationship with most of them,” she wrote, stating that giving ultimatums to athletes is wrong.
“However, if the organizations think that they can just keep saying, ‘do press or you’re gonna be fined,’ and continue to ignore the mental health of the athletes that are the centrepiece of that cooperation then I just gotta laugh,” adds Osaka.
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“Anyways, I hope the considerable amount I get fined for this will go towards a mental health charity,” she concludes.
Reps for the French Open have yet to comment on Osaka’s statement; currently, players at the French Open are obligated to speak with members of the press upon request.