Tennis star Naomi Osaka has caused quite a stir at the French Open for her decision to decline her contractually mandated media sessions.
Osaka, the No. 2 tennis player in the world, announced last week she would not address the media throughout the French Open, citing mental health concerns.
On Sunday, she was fined $15,000 for declining her media obligation following her round 1 victory, which led to a joint statement from the French Open and three other Grand Slam tournaments which threatened more significant penalties, including suspension from future Grand Slam tournaments.
“The Roland-Garros teams asked her to reconsider her position and tried unsuccessfully to speak with her to check on her well-being, understand the specifics of her issue and what might be done to address it on site,” the statement said. “Following the lack of engagement by Naomi Osaka, the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open jointly wrote to her to check on her well-being and offer support, underline their commitment to all athletes’ well-being and suggest dialog on the issues. She was also reminded of her obligations, the consequences of not meeting them and that rules should equally apply to all players.”
The statement continued: “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.
“As might be expected, repeat violations attract tougher sanctions including default from the tournament (Code of Conduct article III T.) and the trigger of a major offence investigation that could lead to more substantial fines and future Grand Slam suspensions (Code of Conduct article IV A.3.).”
It continued to go on to say that mental health of its players is a top priority, but added that Osaka could be getting an "unfair advantage" over her competitors.
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