Tennis star Naomi Osaka triggered a conversation about mental health and the pressures on athletes when she withdrew from the French Open Monday night after being fined for refusing to do mandatory post-match press conferences. But in too many places, the debate about Osaka’s decision has failed to acknowledge the pressures Osaka faces as a Black and Asian woman in a sport that, though significantly reshaped by Serena Williams and Venus Williams, remains overwhelmingly white.
“I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris. I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer,” Osaka wrote on Twitter announcing her withdrawal from the Grand Slam tournament. “More importantly I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly. The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that.”
”Anyone that knows me knows that I am introverted, and anyone that has seen me at tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety,” she continued, adding, “I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak with the world’s media."
In announcing that she would not do press conferences, Osaka had written, “If the organizations think they can keep saying, ‘do press or you’re going to get fined,’ and continue to ignore the mental health of the athletes that are the centerpiece of their cooperation then I just gotta laugh.”
The French Open organizers had not just fined Osaka for that position—a fine she had accepted—but, in a clear escalation, had threatened to throw her out of the tournament, only to have her decide to withdraw.
In the 2018 U.S. Open that Osaka referred to in her withdrawal statement, she defeated Serena Williams in a controversial match during which she was repeatedly booed by a Williams-supporting crowd. After the match, Williams addressed the crowd, saying, “I know you guys were here rooting, and I was rooting, too, but let's make this the best moment we can. ... We're going to get through this, and let's be positive. So congratulations, Naomi. No more booing.”
For her part, Osaka said at that time, “I'm sorry. I know that everyone was cheering for her, and I'm sorry that it had to end like this. I just want to say thank you for watching the match. Thank you."
She added, "It was always my dream to play Serena in the US Open finals, so I'm really glad that I was able to do that. I'm really grateful that I was able to play with you. Thank you.”
Osaka was 20 years old at that time.
The New York Times analysis of Osaka’s refusal to do press and her ultimate decision to withdraw was that sure, sure, mental health is a concern, but Osaka was at fault. “Her announcement on social media [that she would not do press] caught the French Open organizers and sport’s leadership by surprise. That was her first misjudgment,” Christopher Clarey wrote. “Her next was failing to be accessible when those tennis leaders justifiably sought more information.”
Clarey’s take oozes with the feel of someone who has had long conversations with his sources among tournament organizers, who have expressed their sorrow that it had to go down like this, as if the tournament had not taunted Osaka with a tweet about other top tennis players who “understood the assignment.” In fact, Clarey took up the argument of that since-deleted tweet, writing, “if Osaka is sensitive to questions about her weaknesses on clay, imagine how Pete Sampras felt when he was asked about his own failings for more than a decade as he tried and failed to win Roland Garros.”
Gee, I don’t know, maybe the pressures faced by a white man in the 1990s and a woman of color in 2021 during a pandemic and in a completely changed media environment are two different things. Maybe different people have different responses to the pressures they face and we should be respectful of all of them. But no. How dare someone going through mental health struggles not communicate in exactly the forms preferred by the powers that be!
And it’s not like Osaka hadn’t talked about her depression before now.
Clarey’s article nowhere mentions Osaka’s race or the specific pressures she has been subjected to in a racist sport and media. Case in point: Piers Morgan has turned his attacks from Meghan Markle, the duchess of Sussex, to Osaka, calling her a “brat” for not doing media not all that long after he stormed off the set of his own show because someone dared disagree with him.
And showing exactly why Osaka might not want to face the tennis press day in, day out, while dealing with depression and the pressures of a Grand Slam tournament, here's the opening to a question rising star Coco Gauff faced during … a press conference at the 2021 French Open: “You are often compared to the Williams sisters. Maybe it’s because you’re Black. But I guess it’s because you’re talented and maybe American too.”
While some tennis stars like Billie Jean King joined in the both-sidesing of Osaka’s decisions, Serena Williams offered more understanding, saying, “You just have to let her handle it the way she wants to and the best way she thinks she can. That’s the only thing I can say: I think she is doing the best she can.” Gauff responded to Osaka’s withdrawal by tweeting, “stay strong. I admire your vulnerability.”
And the context for the coverage and treatment of Williams, Osaka, and Gauff is important here:
Anyone who tries to strip Osaka’s story of any of this context, from the mental health concerns Osaka has been courageously open about to the ongoing racism in the sport and the media who cover it, is part of the problem.
“I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris. I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer,” Osaka wrote on Twitter announcing her withdrawal from the Grand Slam tournament. “More importantly I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly. The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that.”
”Anyone that knows me knows that I am introverted, and anyone that has seen me at tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety,” she continued, adding, “I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak with the world’s media."
In announcing that she would not do press conferences, Osaka had written, “If the organizations think they can keep saying, ‘do press or you’re going to get fined,’ and continue to ignore the mental health of the athletes that are the centerpiece of their cooperation then I just gotta laugh.”
The French Open organizers had not just fined Osaka for that position—a fine she had accepted—but, in a clear escalation, had threatened to throw her out of the tournament, only to have her decide to withdraw.
In the 2018 U.S. Open that Osaka referred to in her withdrawal statement, she defeated Serena Williams in a controversial match during which she was repeatedly booed by a Williams-supporting crowd. After the match, Williams addressed the crowd, saying, “I know you guys were here rooting, and I was rooting, too, but let's make this the best moment we can. ... We're going to get through this, and let's be positive. So congratulations, Naomi. No more booing.”
For her part, Osaka said at that time, “I'm sorry. I know that everyone was cheering for her, and I'm sorry that it had to end like this. I just want to say thank you for watching the match. Thank you."
She added, "It was always my dream to play Serena in the US Open finals, so I'm really glad that I was able to do that. I'm really grateful that I was able to play with you. Thank you.”
Osaka was 20 years old at that time.
The New York Times analysis of Osaka’s refusal to do press and her ultimate decision to withdraw was that sure, sure, mental health is a concern, but Osaka was at fault. “Her announcement on social media [that she would not do press] caught the French Open organizers and sport’s leadership by surprise. That was her first misjudgment,” Christopher Clarey wrote. “Her next was failing to be accessible when those tennis leaders justifiably sought more information.”
Clarey’s take oozes with the feel of someone who has had long conversations with his sources among tournament organizers, who have expressed their sorrow that it had to go down like this, as if the tournament had not taunted Osaka with a tweet about other top tennis players who “understood the assignment.” In fact, Clarey took up the argument of that since-deleted tweet, writing, “if Osaka is sensitive to questions about her weaknesses on clay, imagine how Pete Sampras felt when he was asked about his own failings for more than a decade as he tried and failed to win Roland Garros.”
Gee, I don’t know, maybe the pressures faced by a white man in the 1990s and a woman of color in 2021 during a pandemic and in a completely changed media environment are two different things. Maybe different people have different responses to the pressures they face and we should be respectful of all of them. But no. How dare someone going through mental health struggles not communicate in exactly the forms preferred by the powers that be!
And it’s not like Osaka hadn’t talked about her depression before now.
Clarey’s article nowhere mentions Osaka’s race or the specific pressures she has been subjected to in a racist sport and media. Case in point: Piers Morgan has turned his attacks from Meghan Markle, the duchess of Sussex, to Osaka, calling her a “brat” for not doing media not all that long after he stormed off the set of his own show because someone dared disagree with him.
And showing exactly why Osaka might not want to face the tennis press day in, day out, while dealing with depression and the pressures of a Grand Slam tournament, here's the opening to a question rising star Coco Gauff faced during … a press conference at the 2021 French Open: “You are often compared to the Williams sisters. Maybe it’s because you’re Black. But I guess it’s because you’re talented and maybe American too.”
While some tennis stars like Billie Jean King joined in the both-sidesing of Osaka’s decisions, Serena Williams offered more understanding, saying, “You just have to let her handle it the way she wants to and the best way she thinks she can. That’s the only thing I can say: I think she is doing the best she can.” Gauff responded to Osaka’s withdrawal by tweeting, “stay strong. I admire your vulnerability.”
And the context for the coverage and treatment of Williams, Osaka, and Gauff is important here:
Anyone who tries to strip Osaka’s story of any of this context, from the mental health concerns Osaka has been courageously open about to the ongoing racism in the sport and the media who cover it, is part of the problem.