Tennis requires a lot of mental health to sustain in the field. Physical injuries are as common as victories. With injuries come mental health complications as well. Players like Serena Williams and Aryna Sabalenka keep spreading awareness of mental health. Even John McEnroe was concerned about Andy Murray‘s mental health after his loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

But Naomi Osaka was one step ahead of all. She withdrew from the French Open because the questions of the press harmed her mental health. In a recent interview, Osaka spoke about everything that she is grateful for and became candid about the issues that bothered her and how she stood firm by her decisions.

Naomi Osaka says it is not easy to make a life-changing decision without any regrets

The Japanese player gave an exclusive interview to Luvvie Ajayi, a Nigerian-American author. Ajayi asked her about the French Open press controversy and how did that make Osaka feel. The twenty-five-year-old was asked if she was supported for her decision to withdraw from the tournament. She was also asked if the decision felt hard to take owing to her suffering.

Osaka answered, “I felt like, it was a little bit of a hard one, but also I also felt like I had to. Just because it wasn’t like a one-day decision, it was like something that I was living in for a little bit, um, like a couple days just because, um, at the start of the French Open, I said I would do no press. And then it kind of became a big deal after that.”

Talking about her decision, the Japanese icon continued, “It was like a couple days, and then I decided to withdraw, but for me, I always felt like I have to kind of stand on something once I feel that way. Like my dad’s a Haitian, so we have kind of always had that like energy, if that made sense.” The first Asian player to hold a top rank in singles revealed how she felt while making the decision and what prompted her to do it.

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Naomi Osaka read the early signs and did not let anyone decide for her

The soon-to-be-mommy added that it is time for the world to think progressively and stand by the changing dynamics of society. Osaka said, “You kind of got to move the world forward a little bit. I also just felt really tired at the time, and I have never felt like mentally drained like that before, and I didn’t think it was healthy.”

The four-time singles Grand Slam winner admitted that therapy helped her in many ways. More than for coping, she felt it taught her to be comfortable with situations that previously caused discomfort. Therapy also aided in increasing her confidence, and she could now find strategies to help her settle into a situation better.

The Japanese sensation’s refusal to attend the post-match press conference ritual did not please the authorities. The Roland Garros referee fined her $15,000 as her behavior was against the Article III H of the Code of Conduct. Osaka will not play this whole season as she is about to welcome her baby, and her return to the professional game is yet to be announced.

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