Heavy price for Osaka’s boycott
Naomi Osaka was fined $15,000 on Sunday for following through on her media boycott — and that could be just the beginning.
The French Open, in a joint statement with the U.S. Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open, threatened to kick Osaka out of the tournament and hand down punishment in other Grand Slams if she keeps shunning the media.
“We have advised Naomi Osaka that should she continue to ignore her media obligations during the tournament, she would be exposing herself to possible further Code of Conduct infringement consequences,” the statement said.
Osaka, the 23-year-old fourtime Grand Slam winner, did not speak with the media after her 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) firstround win over Patricia Maria Tig. She did briefly address the crowd on the court after the match.
Osaka posted a Twitter note on Wednesday saying she won’t be partaking in press conferences during this year’s French Open for mental health reasons, and she believes interviewing athletes after losses is like “kicking a person while they’re down.” Osaka said she hoped fines resulting from not fulfilling her media obligations would go toward a mental health charity.
“I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one,” Osaka wrote. “We’re often sat there and asked questions that we’ve been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds, and I’m just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me.”