Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open

[Anonymous]

She did this after winning the first round and was fined for refusing to appear at the subsequent international press conference. What do you all think of the sports requirement that athletes speak to media even when they’re uncomfortable?

[Anonymous]

I can understand both sides, but especially hers.

[Anonymous]

Her withdrawal comes just before threatened expulsion from the event. Naomi says she has social anxiety and shouldn’t be forced in front of the press - win or lose.

[Anonymous]

I understand her perspective on not doing press. I’m impressed she can even play in front of thousands with social anxiety. At the end of the day, the point is to watch her play, not speak.

[Anonymous]

I have always thought she was a breath of fresh air in her press conferences. While she appeared shy, she also came across as candid and genuine. I had no idea they caused her so much stress.

I can see both sides of this dilemma though and wonder if this could have been handled better and if she attempted to iron this out in advance.

[Anonymous]

Right, but the prize purse comes from a fan base who wants to know the players. If she wants to compete on a big tour and make her living that way, she needs to follow the rules. Should I be able to tell my boss that I'm not "comfortable" talking to my customers because I have anxiety?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have always thought she was a breath of fresh air in her press conferences. While she appeared shy, she also came across as candid and genuine. I had no idea they caused her so much stress.

I can see both sides of this dilemma though and wonder if this could have been handled better and if she attempted to iron this out in advance.

I too am impressed she did so well as a professional athlete knowing this now. I've always felt that the press post-match, especially for the losers, are doing nothing but picking on the players. I can easily see how dreading that performance would negatively impact an athlete's performance pre-game as well.

[Anonymous]

After winning the 1st round, press conference was going to be quite short. She should have done it despite feeling uncomfortable. These are the rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right, but the prize purse comes from a fan base who wants to know the players. If she wants to compete on a big tour and make her living that way, she needs to follow the rules. Should I be able to tell my boss that I'm not "comfortable" talking to my customers because I have anxiety?

The media are not her customers. If an athlete agrees to do media interaction in a different way - via social media or a less intense setting - how is that not acceptable? They're essentially penalizing introverts here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After winning the 1st round, press conference was going to be quite short. She should have done it despite feeling uncomfortable. These are the rules.

The point is that she refused to do the press conference even before the game started. Maybe that relief from the coming conference made it so her mental health didn't affect game performance?

And quite frankly the sports media are ruthless - they would have called her on changing her mind and demanded an explanation. I still remember Serena William's in tears after some of those media scrums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right, but the prize purse comes from a fan base who wants to know the players. If she wants to compete on a big tour and make her living that way, she needs to follow the rules. Should I be able to tell my boss that I'm not "comfortable" talking to my customers because I have anxiety?

The media are not her customers. If an athlete agrees to do media interaction in a different way - via social media or a less intense setting - how is that not acceptable? They're essentially penalizing introverts here.

Sure, when social media or a less intense setting are options, this can be acceptable, but it isn't right now. And I disagree that the media are not her customers. They are the ones paying for her performance, literally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right, but the prize purse comes from a fan base who wants to know the players. If she wants to compete on a big tour and make her living that way, she needs to follow the rules. Should I be able to tell my boss that I'm not "comfortable" talking to my customers because I have anxiety?

The media are not her customers. If an athlete agrees to do media interaction in a different way - via social media or a less intense setting - how is that not acceptable? They're essentially penalizing introverts here.

Sure, when social media or a less intense setting are options, this can be acceptable, but it isn't right now. And I disagree that the media are not her customers. They are the ones paying for her performance, literally.

Why not? Its what they did throughout Covid. The athlete's did fun one-on-one interviews with other athlete's over Zoom.

https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/video/interviews.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right, but the prize purse comes from a fan base who wants to know the players. If she wants to compete on a big tour and make her living that way, she needs to follow the rules. Should I be able to tell my boss that I'm not "comfortable" talking to my customers because I have anxiety?

The media are not her customers. If an athlete agrees to do media interaction in a different way - via social media or a less intense setting - how is that not acceptable? They're essentially penalizing introverts here.

Sure, when social media or a less intense setting are options, this can be acceptable, but it isn't right now. And I disagree that the media are not her customers. They are the ones paying for her performance, literally.

Why not? Its what they did throughout Covid. The athlete's did fun one-on-one interviews with other athlete's over Zoom.

https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/video/interviews.html

But the French Open didn't have those rules. A player doesn't get to decide the rules--they simply decide whether to participate in the tour or not. If she is uncomfortable participating per the rules, she should excuse herself without a bunch of excuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Right, but the prize purse comes from a fan base who wants to know the players. If she wants to compete on a big tour and make her living that way, she needs to follow the rules. Should I be able to tell my boss that I'm not "comfortable" talking to my customers because I have anxiety?

The media are not her customers. If an athlete agrees to do media interaction in a different way - via social media or a less intense setting - how is that not acceptable? They're essentially penalizing introverts here.

Sure, when social media or a less intense setting are options, this can be acceptable, but it isn't right now. And I disagree that the media are not her customers. They are the ones paying for her performance, literally.

Why not? Its what they did throughout Covid. The athlete's did fun one-on-one interviews with other athlete's over Zoom.

https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/video/interviews.html

But the French Open didn't have those rules. A player doesn't get to decide the rules--they simply decide whether to participate in the tour or not. If she is uncomfortable participating per the rules, she should excuse herself without a bunch of excuses.

This isn't just about the FO - all four majors came together in a statement to condemn Naomi Osaka's move even then they had made changes in 2020 which would have been more ideal for her.

[Anonymous]

I bet if she were just a grumpy guy player who refused to comment she wouldn’t have been fined or faced expulsion.