Editorial: Naomi Osaka withdrawal from French Open could spark change

Naomi Osaka during her match against Patricia Maria Tig in the first round of the Women's Singles competition at the 2021 French Open. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

EDITORIAL:

If Naomi Osaka could have her time over, she probably would have done things differently. The Japanese tennis star wanted to forgo media commitments at Roland Garros this year, due to the added pressures they bring.

Instead she became the story of the 2021 French Open after her shock withdrawal last Tuesday, at the same time revealing she has been battling bouts of depression since 2018.

Osaka admitted her messaging could have been clearer, and behind-the-scenes negotiations are always preferable to debates in the public arena.

In hindsight, it may have been easier to skip the Paris Grand Slam altogether.

But Osaka's move might spark change, because the tennis world desperately needs her.

Among women players, only Serena Williams has a greater profile, but the 39-year-old American is nearing the curtain call.

For various reasons the WTA tour lacks genuine star power, which has made the 23-year-old Japanese star such a revelation.

Naomi Osaka during her match against Patricia Maria Tig in the first round of the Women's Singles competition at the 2021 French Open. Photo / Getty Images

She's a global sporting icon, admired for her fearless, powerful play and loved for her honest, engaging personality. But sharing that persona with the world has become too much for the introverted Osaka, and her stance might highlight the huge media workload that top players face.

In 2018 Osaka played 60 matches, with media commitments after each one. There were also 20 pre-tournament press conferences.

No other sport, team or individual, comes close. Golfers have much greater flexibility while football players at Manchester United or Liverpool only do a handful of interviews each season. Top All Blacks don't face global scrutiny, and are carefully protected regardless.

Osaka's rise has also coincided with the age of instant information. Instead of being confined to the reporters on site, Grand Slam press conferences are now streamed across the world.

That gives rise to 'clickbait' journalism, with any juicy soundbites turned into stories, often taken out of context, by websites and news outlets from Budapest to Bogota. It's compounded in Osaka's case, because interest in her transcends the sport.

There's no easy solution, though the response of Roland Garros organisers to Osaka's move – which resembled a headmaster scolding a naughty child – reinforced the perception that the tennis hierarchy is outdated and old fashioned.

As one of the world's highest-earning athletes, Osaka can't expect to avoid media attention and scrutiny, but she has the right to question the interview treadmill that top players currently face, in the hope of finding some realistic middle ground.