Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open 2021 after Round 1 win; reveals battling depression

With number two seed Naomi Osaka sticking to her guns to t indulge in any press conferences at French Open 2021, four-time Grand Slam winner has anunced her exit from Paris showpiece on Monday night, right after her victory in first game of tournament on Sunday. Making a huge revelation while anuncing her withdrawal from Roland Garros, Naomi Osaka said that he has been suffering from 'long bouts of depression' since US Open in 2018. tably, she h cited her mental well-being as a reason for avoiding media interactions at second grand slam of year. 

"I think w best thing for tournament, or players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on tennis going on in Paris. I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was t ideal and my mess could have been clearer. More importantly I would never trivialize mental health or use term lightly," Osaka wrote on Twitter. 

Osaka to take 'some time away' from tennis

Significantly, in her withdrawal te, Naomi Osaka has also said that she will be taking some time away from court, hinting at a hiatus from Tennis. 

"So here in Paris I was alrey feeling vulnerable and anxious so I thought it was better to exercise self-care and skip press conferences. I anunced it preemptively because I do feel like rules are quite outdated in parts and I wanted to highlight that," said Osaka in a statement on Twitter as she pointed out that she is t a natural public speaker and that she gets 'huge wave of anxiety before speaking to world media.'

Osaka fined $15,000 for skipping presser 

With four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka staying true to her commitment of skipping press conferences at Roland Garros, French tennis board has imposed a fine of $15,000 after Japanese snubbed news conference after her first-round victory on Sunday. French Federation has threatened with stiffer penalties, including being defaulted, if she continues to avoid media interactions throughout tournament.

After Osaka's victory against Patricia Maria Tig at Court Philippe Chatrier on Day 1 of French Open, President of French Tennis Federation Gilles Moretton said that penalty imposed will be drawn out of Japanese player's prize money. In a statement on Sunday, federation said that Osaka has been 'vised' that if she continues igring her 'media obligations,' she would be liable to furr Code of Conduct infringement consequences. Citing rule book, federation has asserted that it would impose 'tougher sanctions on repeated violations' including disqualifying four-time Grand Slam champion from tournament as well as being handed future Grand Slam suspensions. 

In a Twitter post on Wednesday, Osaka said that she was t going to participate in standard back-and-forth with media in Paris. Players at Grand Slam tournaments are required to attend news conferences if requested to do so; refusing is punishable by fines of up to $20,000.