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Dinith Pathiraja On Court: Naomi Osaka brings value of mental health to the fore

06 Jun 2021

[caption id="attachment_140999" align="alignleft" width="461"] Naomi Osaka might have lost this battle but she might win the war yet. And this writer is one person who will be looking forward to seeing her back on the court. And in doing all this, she might very well be blazing a trail for the future generations of players who are yet to come to the sport[/caption]
The Grand Slam organisers’ statement regarding Osaka’s withdrawal was quite concerned although this writer found it absolutely hypocritical putting in the context of their earlier actions and statements

 

The French Open, one of the most looked-forward-to tennis tournaments of the year started this week. Whilst normally in the first week of any Grand Slam tournament, there are various stories which crop up, mostly of the sporting nature; the biggest sporting story this week at the French Open has been the withdrawal of world no. 2, Naomi Osaka.

She has withdrawn from the tournament basically because she has decided that she is unable to handle the intrusiveness and the aggressive nature of the press scrutiny that comes with the tournament and the effect it has on her mental health.

Mental health

Whilst it is tempting to dismiss this as the latest whining of another celebrity not liking the scrutiny by the press, unfortunately it has far more implications than that. Mental health is a subject that is misunderstood by many and ignored by the majority often with tragic circumstances.

Even in this particular situation when Osaka first stated that she would not be attending to her media duties, the reaction from all of the Grand Slams as well as from some of her peers was nothing short of extraordinary. This reaction supplied ample proof if any were needed at all regarding the kind of response that most players and people from normal walks of life would get when they talk about mental health.

She was fined $ 10,500 (approximately Rs. 2 million), threatened with expulsion from the tournament, and was further coerced with future bans from the Grand Slams. In other words, the reaction from the Grand Slams was that they were going to force her into submission.

There was no acknowledging of the struggles regarding the mental health. Even the legendary Boris Becker was not very supportive hinting at her “weakness” in doing part of her job and Rafa Nadal was also speaking about the same lines during his press conference trying to placate the assembled press and attempting to get on their good side.

Writing on the wall

Even before this particular high-profile situation, there were warning signs and the writing seemed to be on the wall. This was the case in particular with Gael Monfils. After a particularly tough loss, Monfils broke down during his press conference at the Australian Open in February, telling journalists: “I feel judged. I’m already on the ground, you shoot me.”

But of course, as usual, no one was concerned and seemed to think this was the outburst of another player who was over reacting to tough questions from journalists after a tough loss. And he was one of the first players to react to Osaka withdrawing from the French Open after the rather stunning display of insensitivity by the “slams” after Osaka’s first announcement regarding the boycotting of her “media duties”.

He was having emotions of a very different kind as he had secured a first-round win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Paris, but he empathised with Osaka. “It’s very tough situation for her,” he said. “I feel for her, because I have been struggling quite a lot as well. She’s a champion. She’s quite young. She has a huge influence on many (things). So, I think she needs, as she says, to take some time for her to work on herself, feel better.” Perhaps at least he could relate to her troubles with her mental health and seemed half way to understanding what she was having to go through.

Singing a different tune

As word of Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open spread and as there were decidedly mixed reactions to their actions earlier, the Grand Slam organisers were quick to start singing a different tune. They suddenly started to be quite concerned regarding the “player experience” of the players at the Grand Slams. Their statement regarding the withdrawal was quite concerned, although this writer found it absolutely hypocritical after their earlier actions and statements.

Their earlier statement, after fining Osaka, read in part as follows: “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.).”

Too little too late

After Osaka announced her withdrawal from the tournament, their statement read in part as follows: “On behalf of the Grand Slams, we wish to offer Osaka our support and assistance in any way possible as she takes time away from the court.”

It added: “She is an exceptional athlete and we look forward to her return as soon as she deems appropriate. Mental health is a very challenging issue, which deserves our utmost attention. It is both complex and personal, as what affects one individual does not necessarily affect another.”’

It further went onto say, “We commend Naomi for sharing in her own words the pressures and anxieties she is feeling and we empathise with the unique pressures tennis players may face. While players’ well-being has always been a priority to the Grand Slams, our intention, together with the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association), the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals), and the ITF (International Tennis Federation), is to advance mental health and well-being through further actions. Together, as a community, we will continue to improve the player experience at our tournaments, including as it relates to media. We intend to work alongside the players, the tours, the media, and the broader tennis community to create meaningful improvements. As Grand Slams, we aim to create the stage for the players to achieve the highest accolades in our sport.”

Conclusion

Pardon me, but this is one person who will not holding his breath. It would have been far more appropriate if this had been done before all of this turned into such a mess.

At the end of the day, it is the players who make the sport. It is up to the authorities to do their best to look after the players. And that means looking after their mental health as well.

Osaka might have lost this battle but she might win the war yet. And this writer is one person who will be looking forward to seeing her back on the court. And in doing all this, she might very well be blazing a trail for the future generations of players who are yet to come to the sport.

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