Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open over media boycott controversy

World No 2 says decision 'best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being'

Naomi Osaka celebrates winning against Patricia Maria Tig of Romania during their first round match at the French Open. EPA

Naomi Osaka shakes hands with Angelique Kerber of Germany after the women's singles match day one of the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis at Ariake Coliseum on September 18, 2017 in Tokyo, Japan. Getty

Naomi Osaka in action against Zhu Lin of China in a round robin match during the WTA Rising Stars Invitational at OCBC Arena on October 24, 2015 in Singapore. Getty

Naomi Osaka shows appreciation to the crowd after winning her Women's Singles second round match against Saisai Zheng of China on day three of the 2020 Australian Open. Getty

Naomi Osaka poses for a photo with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup following victory in her Women's Singles Final match against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic at the 2019 Australian Open. Getty

Naomi Osaka hits a return during her Women's Singles Quarterfinals match against Zhang Shuai of China in the 2018 China Open. Getty

Naomi Osaka celebrates beating Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine in the semifinals of the 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open. Getty

Naomi Osaka holds the winners trophy after defeating Caroline Garcia of France during the 2015 WTA Rising Stars Final at Singapore Sports Hub. Getty

Naomi Osakasigns autographs for fans after winning her Women's Singles second round match against Saisai Zheng of China at the 2020 Australian Open. Getty

Naomi Osaka poses with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after winning the 2019 Australian Open. Getty

Naomi Osaka poses for photographs after beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open. Getty

Naomi Osaka celebrates during a Ladies Singles second round match against Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic at the 2017 Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships. Getty

World No 2 Naomi Osaka shocked the tennis world on Monday after withdrawing from the French Open following the fall-out from her decision to boycott all media activities.

"The best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris," Osaka announced on Twitter.

Osaka won her opening match of the major against Patricia Maria Tig on Sunday but her decision not to take part in press conferences was the main talking point.

Osaka was fined $15,000 by organisers with the four grand slams reacting strongly, threatening her with potential disqualification and a ban from future tournaments should she not reconsider.

The tennis star said she had suffered bouts of depression after winning her first slam title at the US Open in 2018 and added talking to the media triggered her anxiety.

"I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer," she stated on Twitter. "More importantly, I would never trivialise mental health or use the term lightly.

"The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that.

"Anyone that knows me knows I'm introverted, and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments will notice that I'm often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety.

"Though the tennis press has always been kind to me, and I wanna apologise especially to all the cool journalists who I may have hurt, I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world's media."

The French Tennis Federation (FFT) termed her withdrawal unfortunate.

"We are sorry and sad for Naomi Osaka...We wish her the best and quickest possible recovery, and we look forward to having Naomi at our tournament next year," FFT president Gilles Moretton said in a statement.

The Women's Tennis Association said mental health was a priority for the organisation. "We remain here to support and assist Naomi in any way possible and we hope to see her back on the court soon," it added in a statement.

Sofia Kenin said dealing with tennis media's demands was not easy but it is what players signed up for.

"There's expectations from the outside, sponsors and everyone. You just have to somehow manage it. You have to have a good team around you who support you," the American said.