Naomi Osaka on Monday said she is withdrawing from the French Open.
The tennis star stated this after she refused to speak to the media at the grand slam.
She wrote in a statement on Twitter that she was pulling out so that “everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris,” adding that she would “take some time away from the court.”
The four-time major winner said she had “suffered long bouts of depression” since winning her first Grand Slam title in 2018.
Earlier last Wednesday, citing mental health reasons, Osaka wrote on social media she would not participate in any news conferences during the French Open, hoping that any fines she incurred would go toward a mental health charity.
But after her straight-set victory last Sunday, she was fined $15,000 for refusing b talk to the media, Roland Garros announced in a statement.
However, in the Monday statement Osaka said, “This isn’t a situation I ever imagined or intended when I posted a few days ago,
“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. 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 I’m introverted, and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety.
“Though the tennis press has always been kind to me (and I wanna apologize especially to all the cool journalists who I may have hurt), I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world’s media.
“I get really nervous and find it stressful to always try to engage and give you the best answers I can. 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.
“I announced it preemptively because I do feel like the rules are quite outdated in parts and I wanted to highlight that. I wrote privately to the tournament apologizing and saying that I would be more than happy to speak with them after the tournament as the Slams are intense.
“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.”