Naomi Osaka’s sister Mari has apologised after an attempt to explain the reasoning behind the world No 2’s media boycott led to an online backlash.
In a statement released on her social media channels last week, Osaka said she would not attend press conferences at Roland Garros this year because reporters show “no regard for athletes’ mental health” and ask questions that “bring doubts into our minds”.
True to her word, Osaka failed to fulfil her press obligations after her first round win over Patricia Maria Tig and was fined $15,000 (£10,584), prompting a joint statement from the four grand slams warning that unless she backed down she risked disqualification from the French Open and suspension from future majors.
As the situation escalated, Mari, herself a former professional player, took to social media in an effort to clarify her sister’s position.
“Naomi mentioned to me before the tournament that a family member had come up to her and remarked that she’s bad at clay,” she wrote in a since-deleted Reddit post.
“At every press conference she’s told she’s has a bad record on clay. When she lost in Rome r1 she was not ok mentally. Her confidence was completely shattered and I think that everyone’s remarks and opinions have gotten to her head and she herself believed that she was bad on clay.
“This isn’t true and she knows that in order to do well and have a shot at winning Roland Garros she will have to believe that she can. That’s the first step any athlete needs to do, believe in themselves. So her solution was to block everything out. No talking to people who is going to put doubt in her mind.
“She’s protecting her mind hence why it’s called mental health. So many people are picky on this term thinking you need to have depression or have some sort of disorder to be able to use the term mental health.”
Mari’s post, the authenticity of which was verified by tennis writer Ben Rothenberg, prompted a number of users to accuse Osaka of misappropriating the term “mental health”. She responded by deleting the original post and apologising to her sister.
“OK, so I fucked up,” she wrote. “My words are coming across so horribly to a lot of people who think taking care of mental health is strategic.
“I didn’t emphasise the fact that Naomi is dealing with a ton of shit and honestly fighting for the care of mental health in my post so now a lot of people are taking it as “She doesn’t want to hear criticism”.
“I’m sorry Naomi I probably made the situation worse.”
The statement from the grand slams, a rare example of the tennis establishment speaking with one voice, laid bare the gravity of the situation facing the US and Australian Open champion. “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.
“We want to underline that rules are in place to ensure all players are treated exactly the same, no matter their stature, beliefs or achievement. As a sport there is nothing more important than ensuring no player has an unfair advantage over another, which unfortunately is the case in this situation if one player refuses to dedicate time to participate in media commitments while the others all honour their commitments.”
Former world No 1 Christ Evert has called on Osaka to engage with the authorities before the situation escalates further. “I really respect what she’s done and what she stands for, but I think going to press conferences after a match is crucial to the growth of tennis,” she told Eurosport.
“Why doesn’t she answer all of the tennis grand slams, and at least go face to face, eyeball to eyeball. Isn’t that what you do when you’re talking about such an important issue? If this doesn’t get talked out, it’s going to blow up and there could be lawsuits. It just won’t be pretty. I think they need to take care of it and I think communication, understanding, empathy, that all has to come into effect right now.”