Naomi Osaka's statement about withdrawing from French Open

By Associated Press May 31, 2021
Pick of the Day

Rome Betting Preview: Linda Noskova vs. Mirra Andreeva

By Zachary Cohen May 11, 2025
Rome, Italy

Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe all bounced in Rome openers

By TENNIS.com May 11, 2025
Rome, Italy

Rome Previews & Picks: Sabalenka vs. Kenin, Fils vs. Tsitsipas, Rybakina vs. Andreesu

By Steve Tignor May 11, 2025
Rome, Italy

Jannik Sinner: Rome return means “more than any result”

By David Kane May 10, 2025
Rome, Italy

Jannik Sinner makes winning comeback to the tour with straight-set victory in Rome

By John Berkok May 10, 2025
Social

Emil Ruusuvuori opens up about panic attacks, mental health challenges

By Liya Davidov May 10, 2025
Rome, Italy

Rome: Peyton Stearns doesn’t regret tweeting through coaching switch

By David Kane May 10, 2025
Rome, Italy

Iga Swiatek: “It would be stupid to expect a lot” at Roland Garros after Rome loss

By David Kane May 10, 2025
Ranking Reaction

Iga Swiatek to drop out of Top 2 for first time in more than three years after early loss in Rome

By John Berkok May 10, 2025

Naomi Osaka's statement about withdrawing from French Open

Naomi Osaka announced Monday on social media that she was withdrawing from the French Open

ByAssociated Press

Published May 31, 2021

France Tennis French Open

© Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Naomi Osaka

Advertising

tweeted the following statement announcing her withdrawal from the French Open on Monday:

"Hey everyone, 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 idea 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 rally 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. Anyways hope you are all doing well and staying safe, love you guys I'll see you when i see you (heart emoji)"

___

More AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports