Naomi Osaka has been warned she could be expelled from the
French Open if she continues to refuse to speak to the media.
The four-time Grand Slam singles champion, Osaka announced
last Wednesday via social media that she would not participate in mandatory
media interviews, citing mental health reasons.
A statement on behalf of all four Grand Slam tournaments
said "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.#RolandGarros
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2021
It continued: "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.)."
Osaka, 23, took part in a short and rather awkward on-court
interview for the few hundred fans allowed into Court Philippe Chatrier
following her win.
The second seed said ahead of the clay-court Grand Slam that
she wanted to take a stand against the impact of interviews on the psychological
welfare of all players.
The statement from the four Grand Slams added: "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."
The Grand Slam tournaments also said they remain committed
to reviewing "every aspect of the player experience, including with the
media", but that it was only achievable "through respectful and
constructive discussions".
Osaka, who has yet to reach the last-16 at Roland Garros
during her career, will face world No 102 Ana Bogdan in the second round.
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