Naomi Osaka’s Big French Open Exit Shakes Up the Mental Health Debate

Tennis star Naomi Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the French Open this week after refusing to take part in press conferences has reinvigorated the conversation about mental health—garnering both widespread applause and sharp criticism from fans around the world.

“People’s attitudes towards her, both here in France, and on social media around the world, have changed,” said documentary filmmaker Rosie Collyer on Friday’s The World This Week.

Paris-based reporter Philip Turle argued that the tournament heads should “let it go on, [let her] play tennis and forget about the press conferences.” “Let her win the tournament and we’ll all be delighted for her,” he said. “And leave the poor girl alone.”

CHEATED

Serena Deserved Better. And So Did Osaka.

Danielle Tcholakian

The Daily Beast’s Noor Ibrahim touched on the responsibility of corporations and event organizers to walk their talk when it comes to prioritizing the mental health of young athletes.

“It really speaks to the generational divide that we’re seeing with these younger athletes. And I also think it’s time to recognize that we have a lot of conversations about destigmatizing mental health issues, and talking about those things and having open conversations about them,” she said. “But the fact is, it needs to translate to action sometimes, and that requires some compromises and sacrifices.”

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