Did Naomi Osaka hint at a tennis sabbatical? Social media post sparks off speculations

Naomi Osaka has taken internet by storm in past week ever since she announced that she would be boycotting French Open press conferences due to mental health issues. With Osaka seemingly facing severe backlash from tennis federation for her decision she eventually decided to withdraw from French Open. Japanese ace wrote a heartfelt message on her social media account and also seemed to suggest that she may take a sabbatical.

Naomi Osaka Twitter: Is four-time Grand Slam champion taking a sabbatical?

Naomi Osaka wrote a heartfelt post on her Twitter account to announce her withdrawal from French Open. 23-year-old highlighted that she h been suffering from "long bouts of depression" since US Open in 2018. However, what fans were most concerned about is that Osaka may have hinted at taking a sabbatical as she wrote that she was going to take some time off tour.

While this may be first time Osaka has spoken of her own concerns, she has shown a tremendous amount of empathy towards ors in past. Last year, Japanese tennis ace pulled out of Western & Sourn Open to draw attention towards police brutality against Black community following shooting of Jacob Blake. She continued to draw attention towards Black Lives Matter at US Open as she h names of all people who died due to police brutality on her masks.

With Osaka now facing mental health concerns herself, a lot of people sent ir good wishes to her. Some of reactions can be seen below. 

Naomi Osaka news: Naomi Osaka French Open fines

While tennis world showed a great amount of empathy for Naomi Osaka's feelings, French tennis board seemed to show none of it. French tennis board inste imposed a fine of $15,000 on Osaka since she remained true to her commitment to skipping press conferences. French Federation h also threatened four-time Grand Slam winner with more severe penalties, including being defaulted, if she h continued to avoid media interactions throughout tournament. After 23-year-old's first-round win against Patricia Maria Tig, President of French Tennis Federation Gilles Moretton said that penalty imposed on Japanese player will be drawn from her prize money.

Wimbledon 2021 schedule: Will Naomi Osaka skip tournament?

With Naomi Osaka seemingly having suggested that she is taking a sabbatical she could indeed miss Wimbledon 2021, which takes place shortly after French Open. Wimbledon 2021 takes place from Monday, June 28 to Sunday, July 11.