Post by Admin on Jun 1, 2021 13:32:32 GMT -4
Nike Releases Statement On Naomi Osaka Situation
Naomi Osaka responds to Tom Rinaldi.
ESPN.
Naomi Osaka received an outpouring of support after she announced that she would withdraw from this year’s French Open, citing her struggles with her mental health. The latest string of sympathies have come from her sponsors and, most notably, Nike.
The sports apparel company, who signed Osaka to a major deal in 2019 soon after her first Grand Slam win at the 2018 U.S. Open, released a statement after the tennis star’s withdrawal on Monday.
“Our thoughts are with Naomi. We support her and recognize her courage in sharing her own mental health experience,” Nike said in a statement.
Osaka’s decision to withdraw came following a stern warning from the Grand Slam tournaments after her first round victory over the weekend. The 23-year-old, four-time Grand Slam winner had followed through on her vow to not attend her post-match media sessions, leading to a $15,000 fine and a threat of stiffer punishments to come.
Rather than take attention away from the French Open, Osaka opted to withdraw from the field prior to her second round match. She also revealed that she’s suffered “long bouts of depression” since her first Grand Slam win in 2018, which had led to social anxiety when meeting with the press.
Although brought about by unfortunate circumstances, Osaka’s statement showed a tremendous amount of courage and gave tennis fans a deeper understanding of her position.
Nike joined a collection of Osaka’s other sponsors in issuing words of support for the 23-year-old. Nissin Foods, MasterCard, sweetgreen and TAG Heuer also stood behind the four-time Grand Slam champ after she revealed her struggles with depression.
A plethora of other athletes including Stephen Curry, Russell Wilson and Serena Williams sent their own messages to Osaka on Monday. Martina Navratilova, who herself won 18 Grand Slam titles, summed up the situation well by saying “this is about more than doing or not doing a press conference.”
Hopefully it won’t be long until we see Osaka back out on the court. Simply put, tennis is better when she’s playing, so ideally she’ll be able to take some time away and come back stronger than ever.
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Boris Becker on Naomi Osaka's French Open withdrawal: 'I almost feel like her career is in danger'
Osaka announced she was withdrawing from the French Open over mental health concerns
Tennis legend Boris Becker warned Tuesday that Naomi Osaka’s "career is in danger" after her decision to withdraw from the French Open to deal with her mental health.
Becker, who won six Grand Slam titles, spoke about Osaka’s decision on Eurosport.
"I heard her first response a couple of days ago about this media boycott and that is something to be always taken seriously, especially from such a young woman," he said, via Tennis 365. "She couldn’t cope with the pressures of facing the media after she loses a match, but that happens frequently and you have to deal with it."
Becker explained that he hated the media but understood it was part of his job to talk to reporters.
"I always believed the media was part of the job. Without the media, there is no prize money, no contracts, you don’t get half the cake. I hated the media and I didn’t like talking to journalists, but you had to do it," he said.
"Now she is pulling out of the tournament altogether because she can’t cope with it and that raises much bigger questions for me. If she can’t cope with the media in Paris, she can’t cope with the media in Wimbledon or the U.S. Open. So I almost feel like her career is in danger due to mental health issues."
Osaka raised eyebrows when she announced she was avoiding the press during the French Open for mental health reasons. She received some praise for fully withdrawing from the tournament Monday to focus on her mental health.
She explained she didn’t want to take away the spotlight from the athletes who are competing and added that she had been suffering "long bouts of depression" since the 2018 U.S. Open.
I only hope she gets well she's young and can comeback as she started....Candy
