French Open: Naomi Osaka in the press boycott - organizers threaten with disqualification
The four-time Grand Slam winnerNaomi Osaka is threatened with great trouble. If the Japanese pulls through her controversial press boycott at the French Open, she could be excluded from the tournament.
by SID
last edit: May 30, 2021, 10:08 pm
Naomi Osaka only lets her bat speak - and the organizers of the French Open threaten the four-time Grand Slam winner with severe consequences, including disqualification. The press boycott of what is currently the most colorful tennis player on the international tour caused great excitement on the first day of the clay court tournament in Paris.
"We have informed Naomi Osaka that she will face possible further consequences if she continues to ignore her media duties during the tournament," said the French tennis association FFT on Sunday and initially fined Osaka $ 15,000: "How expected, repeated violations will result in tougher sanctions, up to and including exclusion from the tournament. "
Earlier, Osaka had followed up on words with deeds and carried out their announcement that they would not be attending the compulsory press conferences of the French Open. After her first round win against the Romanian Patricia Maria Tig 6: 4, 7: 6 (4), the 23-year-old broke her "vow of silence" only for a short interview on the field.
Organizers want to change Osaka’s mind
"Playing on clay is still a learning process for me. Hopefully I'll get better with every game on this surface," said the Japanese after she had finished her match after 1:47 hours.
There were no further statements from the world number two, who now meets Tig's compatriot Ana Bogdan. Osaka announced last week that she wanted to draw attention to the mental health of professional athletes by avoiding the press briefings.
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Attempts by the organizers to change their minds followed. Together with the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, they asked about their well-being and offered a dialogue to support their commitment to the health of the athletes, according to a press release on Sunday. At the same time, she was informed of the possible consequences. Apparently the words of warning did not catch on.
Best earning female athlete in the world
Osaka's announcement had previously made the scene frown. Without the media, "we probably wouldn't be the athletes we are today," said Paris record champion Rafael Nadal in the run-up to the tournament. World number one Ashleigh Barty from Australia emphasized that press work was "part of the job" for her. Alexander Zverev showed a little more understanding, he "respect the decision" said Germany's number one.
With an annual salary of around $ 55 million, Osaka is the world's top-earning female athlete and has long since risen to become a global brand. She likes to use her popularity to set standards beyond sport. Her protest against police violence at the US Open caused a worldwide sensation - now she is tackling a new topic.
"I have often noticed that people do not take the mental health of the athletes into consideration, and I am aware of this again and again at press conferences," she wrote in her announcement of the boycott and only lets her racket speak.
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