Tennis No. 2 seed, Naomi Osaka has been fined $15000 in the wake of her infringement of mandatory media interviews at Roland-Garros.

Naomi Osaka announced on Wednesday via social media, that she would not participate in the mandatory media interviews at Roland-Garros 2021.

Hey everyone-

Hope you're all doing well, I'm writing this to say l'm not going to do any press during Roland Garros.

I've often felt that people have no regard for athletes mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one. We're often sat there and asked questions that we've been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and 'm just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me.

I've watched many clips of athletes breaking down after a loss in the press room and I know you have as well. I believe that whole situation is kicking a person while they're down and I don't understand the reasoning behind it. Me not doing press is nothing personal to the tournament and a couple journalists have interviewed me since l was young so I have a friendly relationship with most of them.

However, if the organizations think that they can just keep saying, "do press or you're gonna be fined" and continue to ignore the mental health of the athletes that are the centerpiece of their cooperation then I just gotta laugh.

Anyways, I hope the considerable amount that I get fined for this will go towards a mental health charity.
XOXO

Naomi Osaka

Following this announcement, 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.

STATEMENT FROM GRAND SLAM TOURNAMENTS REGARDING NAOMI OSAKA

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.

Naomi Osaka today chose not to honour her contractual media obligations. The Roland-Garros referee has therefore issued her a $15,000 fine, in keeping with article III H. of the Code of Conduct.

The mental health of players competing in our tournaments and on the Tours is of the utmost importance to the Grand Slams.

We individually and collectively have significant resources dedicated to player well-being. In order to continue to improve however, we need engagement from the players to understand their perspective and find ways to improve their experiences. Every year we seek to deliver better experiences to our fans, our players and our people, and we have a long and successful track record in achievement on this count.

A core element of the Grand Slam regulations is the responsibility of the players to engage with the media, whatever the result of their match, a responsibility which players take for the benefit of the sport, the fans and for themselves. These interactions allow both the players and the media to share their perspective and for the players to tell their story. The facilitation of media to a broad array of channels, both traditional and digital, is a major contributor to the development and growth of our sport and the fan base of individual players.

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.).

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.

Finally, all Grand Slams remain committed to continually reviewing and discussing opportunities, together with the Tours and the players, to improve every aspect of the player experience, including with the media. But we consider this is only ever achieved through respectful and constructive discussions.

On behalf of:

Jayne Hrdlicka, Tennis Australia Chair & President

Gilles Moretton, FFT President

Ian Hewitt, AELTC Chairman

Mike McNulty, USTA Chairman of the Board & President

Roland Garros

She is fighting for change, and I will not be surprised if she finds support amongst her peers and gets that change eventually.

I now accept her as a suitable successor in my mind for my darling Serena.

Go, Osaka! Go Girl!

marveangel:
I support her decision not to grant interviews. Yes I understand it is expected of her as an athlete but what if she doesn't want to or feel like it. Isn't it just wrong to make people do something they do not feel comfortable doing?

Those interviews are paid for by media companies and not taking part in it means a loss to them. Do you know that media sponsors pay millions for those interview. She signed to abide by the rules when she became a member of the association and should stick to the terms of her contract. The money she is paid as an association of tennis member is not coming from the air, you can't hate the hen and still eat her eggs. She should thread with caution and know that the media agencies are a powerful tool in her choice of trade and can cause a lot of trouble for her should she be perceived as a threat to their business.

Seun Osewa baby

I don’t know her but she’s so pretty

Thats serious

Rubbish

Its her mental health we are talking about here

I know it was an agreement but wat the actual Bleep, capitalism slowly turning everyone to slaves.

Wow

Cordae babe

So refusal to grant interview is an offence?

Anyway, what do I know?

As a human you should always know when to say NO.

It starts now

G

budaatum:
She is fighting for change, and I will not be surprised if she finds support amongst her peers and gets that change eventually.

I now accept her as a suitable successor in my mind for my darling Serena.

Go, Osaka! Go Girl!

Yes oo
Noami Osaka all the way

By force interview

Hmm... I really get what she's getting though. But there's two sides to this. If it's part of what she signed up for, then she's has to meet the obligations. On the other hand, sport associations globally are all about the money and don't care about the athletes because they feel the money they get covers up for all the stress and things they go through. So in a way, I stand with her and I think the other athletes who aren't all about the money would stand with her too.

It has always been a tradition to grant interviews after the match.... So it's fair to say this was justified.

Hmm

Real change indeed comes with a price...I think press interview after a match should be optional..Anyways,Osaka can never do any wrong,I just love this Lady

Omox1000000
I don't even know what to say

Woke generation. This generation is the most dyfunctional. Everybody is an activist. Everything is a fight.

I'm sure that $15000 fine is change to her, a teenager and I imagine an average Nigerian adult getting just $1000 on a platter. It shall be well with my country.

She should be careful if she want to go far, so she won't end like Baloteli

eyya e no go sho for her body self