Game, set and match Osaka – tennis player has sparked an overdue conversation about stars’ mental health

French Open organisers chose not to listen to Naomi Osaka’s message about mental health, but plenty of others have since her walkout from the tournament
Their refusal to heed her request to skip post-match media duties has got fans, fellow athletes and sponsors talking about the issue

Kate Whitehead

Published: 8:15am, 10 Jun 2021

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What were the organisers of the French Open thinking when they effectively forced one of the players – the world No 2 no less – out of the tournament?

Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka said she wanted to skip post-match press conferences citing mental health concerns. The not so warm and fuzzy tennis officials slapped her with a US$15,000 fine and threatened to expel her from the tournament if she failed to meet her media obligations.

The 23-year-old player faced a choice – continue to play and compromise her mental health or quit the tournament. She left – and in her wake has raised plenty of questions about mental health, sport and the media.

Kudos to Osaka for making herself vulnerable and speaking honestly – via Instagram – about her history of depression and the “huge waves of anxiety” she feels when speaking to the media. Held in the aftermath of a match, those press conferences can be brutal, and Osaka likened them to kicking someone when they are down.

Naomi Osaka fields questions from the media at a press conference during the 2019 Indian Wells tennis tournament in California. She said she feels “huge waves of anxiety” when speaking to the media. Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP

Tennis players – and athletes in general – aren’t robots designed solely to entertain and boost media ratings. They are human, regardless of how many endorsements and media commitments are attached to them.

When the president of the French Tennis Federation, Gilles Moretton, held a press conference in the wake of Osaka’s withdrawal, he made his statement and left without taking a single question from the press, showing himself just how daunting it can be to have questions fired at you when you’re down.

The coronavirus pandemic has made us all more aware of mental health issues. If you haven’t experienced anxiety or depression over the past year, then likely someone close to you has, and it takes courage to step forward and share your story. Osaka did just that and the French Open organisers chose not to listen, but many others have. The outpouring of support she has received from fans, athletes and big-ticket sponsors such as Nike suggests which way the wind is blowing.

Playing at the top level of her sport, Osaka last year used her sway to put the spotlight on the Black Lives Matter movement and call attention to racial injustice and police brutality. This Gen-Z tennis star has now put mental health firmly on the sports map and got the conversation started. Game, set and match, Osaka.