BEVERLY HILLS, May 30, (THEWILL) – World number two female tennis player stuck to her decision to skip the mandatory press conferences at Roland Garros and was immediately issued a formal warning after being slammed with a fine. The Japanese was warned that she could face a default from the competition, as a whole, if she continues to shun her media obligations.
As reported by THEWILL, Osaka evoked a debate on the eve of the tournament when she went public with her decision not to attend any press conferences at Roland Garros citing mental health concerns.
Reactions to her announcement were split but Osaka did not change her mind. True to her stance, she left her straight sets victory over Patricia Tig in the first round of Roland Garros on Sunday without showing up for the press conference.
As a consequence, the four Grand Slams – Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open – felt obligated to release a joint statement wherein they reminded Osaka of her obligations and warned her that she faced being expelled from the competition entirely.
Their statement read: “Naomi Osaka announced last Wednesday on social media that she would not participate in the mandatory media interviews at Roland-Garros 2021. Following this announcement, 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.
“Following the lack of engagement by Naomi Osaka, the Australian Open, Roland-garros, Wimbledon and the US Open jointly wrote to her to check on her well-being and offer support, underline their commitment to all athletes’ well-being and suggest dialog on the issues. She was also reminded of her obligations, the consequences of not meeting them and that rules should equally apply to all players.
“Naomi Osaka today chose not to honour her contractual media obligations. The Roland-Garros referee has therefore issued her a $15,000 fine, in keeping with article III H. of the Code of Conduct.
“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. Every year we seek to deliver better experiences to our fans, our players and our people, and we have a long and successful track record in achievement on this count.
“A core element of the Grand Slam regulations is the responsibility of the players to engage with the media, whatever the result of their match, a responsibility which players take for the benefit of the sport, the fans and for themselves. These interactions allow both the players and the media to share their perspective and for the players to tell their story. The facilitation of media to a broad array of channels, both traditional and digital, is a major contributor to the development and growth of our sport and the fan base of individual players.
“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.).
“We want to underline that rules are in place to ensure all players are treated exactly the same, no matter their stature, beliefs or achievement. As a sport there is nothing more important than ensuring no player has an unfair advantage over another, which unfortunately is the case in this situation if one player refuses to dedicate time to participate in media commitments while the others all honour their commitments.
“Finally, all Grand Slams remain committed to continually reviewing and discussing opportunities, together with the Tours and the players, to improve every aspect of the player experience, including with the media. But we consider this is only ever achieved through respectful and constructive discussions.”
What this could mean to Osaka’s continued participation might depend on her reaction to the statement from the joint Slams. She had already noted that she was prepared to pay the fines that applied for skipping the press conferences but the additional repercussions of default from this and possibly other slams is another factor to consider.
That may be enough deterrence to bring the Japanese back in line or make her resolved to dare the stance of the Slams with the influence she wields in the sport.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
