Osaka won't speak with press at French Open due to mental health impact

Reigning US Open and Australian Open singles champion Naomi Osaka has announced she will not participate in any press conferences at this month's French Open, citing the preservation of her mental health as the primary factor behind her decision to ignore the tournament's media requirements.

"I've often felt that people have no regard for athletes' mental health, and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one," Osaka wrote in a statement released on social media Wednesday.

"We're often sat there and asked questions that we've been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds, and I'm just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me.

"I've watched many clips of athletes breaking down after a loss in the press room, and I know you have as well. I believe that whole situation is kicking a person while they're down, and I don't understand the reasoning behind it," Osaka added.

Osaka added that her decision wasn't a personal indictment of either the tournament organizers or journalists, noting she has developed a "friendly relationship with most of" the latter group throughout her tennis career.

The 23-year-old star also expressed her desire for "the considerable amount that (she will) get fined for this will go towards a mental health charity."

Osaka has a 13-3 singles record in 2021, with two of those losses coming on clay in May. The young phenom will need to conquer the surface in Paris to improve on her previous best results at the French Open, having topped off with third-round finishes in 2016, 2018, and 2019.

The WTA's No. 2-ranked player figures to be among her nation's top gold medal hopefuls at this summer's rescheduled Tokyo 2020 games, but the Japanese star has expressed reservations about moving forward with the Olympics while the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage.