This is a long post. If you are familiar with the issue of top-ranking tennis star Naomi Osaka pulling out of the French Open this week citing mental health issues, you may skip the first part and scroll down.
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| Source: Yahoo Sport |
Naomi Osaka is a 23-year-old American Tennis player. Her first big win came when she was 16 -- when she beat Samantha Stosur, a former US Open champion, in the Stanford Classic in 2014.
She burst into the limelight less than three years ago, with a sensational victory over her compatriot, veteran Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open. (I blogged about that match that became controversial for other reasons.)
Ever since that she has been doing extremely well in the game and is now among the top-ranked players in the world.
On May 27, in the runup to the ongoing French Open, she said she would not be taking questions from the media after her matches.
That's one of the contractual obligations players sign into.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 26, 2021
Her reason: Many of the reporters are insensitive. When a player has a lost a match they keep asking questions about that match which is akin to being kicked when one has fallen down.
In a nutshell, she wasn't in a frame of mind to talk to the media.
Her decision was seen more like a refusal to play by the rules and a move to impose her personal views on the system.
On the opening day of the French Open on Sunday, May 30, Osaka got off to a winning start defeating unseeded Patricia Maria Tig of Romania, who has WTA singles ranking of 56, in straight sets: 6-4, 7-6.
But, Osaka boycotted the obligatory post-match media conference. She was fined $15,000 and was threatened with expulsion from the tournament and other Grand Slam matches if she continued to boycott the media interactions.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 31, 2021
The very next day, she made the disclosure -- which stunned the tennis world -- that she was pulling out the French Open. She prefaced it with references to how she has been suffering from depression for the last three years.
WHAT WE KNOW
Naomi Osaka is known to be introverted, and nervous about facing crowds.
During the 2018 US Open, which she won when she was just 20, she was loudly booed by the crowd, forcing her to tears.
That year she spoke about depression. "I am feeling depressed. I don't know why."
The next year, she said the media's focus on her and their questions were her biggest problems.
Every highly performing player -- who willy-nilly gets a celebrity status -- is under intense media glare. That's not easy to handle.
The pressure to perform and win every match, especially when one is at the pinnacle, can be excruciating.
Players, especially as they climb up the ladder, have a battery of advisors and counsellors to guide and help them.
Big tennis organisations have their own facilities to address players mental issues.
It's the job of the media to ask questions, even if uncomfortable. One can request them to be sensitive and phrase them more appropriately. But it wouldn't be right to tell them not to ask questions.
Having said that, it's true media can be very insensitive. We have seen so many examples of how celebrities have been tormented by paparazzi.
WHAT WE DON'T KNOW
Though Osaka has spoken about her mental pressures, it's not known if she had officially communicated it to the organisers.
It's also not known if tennis organisations had taken note of her public statements and reached out to her with assistance.
Also, one doesn't know if the specific issue of "questioning by media" has been raised with the media themselves and organisations and discussed.
WHEN IS FEELING LOW ACTUALLY DEPRESSION
One doesn't know. That's the whole problem.
There is no point in saying, why Osaka didn't talk about it earlier? We didn't know. That's true. But that's not her fault.
I don't think there is any person who hasn't felt low, down in the dumps, who has struggled to get up and get on with one's life ...
When is that really a problem?
I have read articles, books and spoken to people who handle mental health issues. This is what I have understood.
Depression is an emotional issue. It's not a physical issue. Others can't see it. Others can't feel it.
The feeling of depression -- which is very common -- normally doesn't last too long. We are able to distract ourselves soon and carry on with our normal routine.
A rule of thumb is that if something unusual is so persistent as to disrupt the normal routine consistently, then it's an issue that needs attention.
That rule applies to the feeling of not being emotionally or mentally well. We don't really know, probably not even Osaka, when the issue has begun to affect her in a detrimental manner.
OSAKA NEEDS SUPPORT
A mental scar is not like a physical scar. Unfortunately.
Players, when physically injured, pull out of matches. Just yesterday another top-ranking player Australia's Ashley Barti pulled out of the tournament because of a physical injury.
So in the same vein, if they aren't mentally well, or depressed, is it okay for them to pull out of matches or not fulfil contractual obligations?
Are sports tournaments more about matches or about talking to the media?
Is the ability to handle the media also a part of the celebrity package?
Surely there are issues, and something seems to be broken.
It's quite possible that so many players have felt like Osaka has, but they, for whatever reasons, never took a tough stand like she did.
It's unfortunate that her feelings couldn't be addressed earlier in a more conciliatory manner.
WAITING FOR OSAKA TO BE BACK
Not just tennis, but other sports federations too must look at these contractual obligations and see if they are all fair to players, especially if there are aspects that are tied to mental health.
What matters most is on-court performance.
Noami Osaka is a gifted player.
Tennis needs her.
I hope she will be back on the courts soon.
On the green lawns of Wimbledon.
Here's wishing her well.