‘THANK YOU’

Naomi Osaka Reveals the Celebs Who Reached Out Amid Mental Health Break

“I want to thank everyone who supported me,” Osaka wrote in an essay detailing the reasons behind her brief hiatus.

After struggling with issues involving mental health and social anxiety, Naomi Osaka has been taking a break from tennis. In a new essay for TIME, titled “It’s O.K. Not to Be O.K.,” she said a deluge of celebs reached out to her after she announced a hiatus, among them Michelle Obama, Michael Phelps, Steph Curry, and Meghan Markle. “I want to thank everyone who supported me,” Osaka wrote. She explained the reason for her break, writing that she loves the press but doesn’t enjoy press conferences. “I have always enjoyed an amazing relationship with the media and have given numerous in-depth, one-on-one interviews.” But, she added, the traditional format of press conferences is dated and “in great need of a refresh.” She ended her essay by saying, “I could not be more excited to play in Tokyo.”