Naomi Osaka, Tennis, and Mental Health
By Melis Baskaya
October 2021
In the United States, over 40 million adults have an anxiety disorder. Between August 2020 and February 2021, the percentage of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or a depressive disorder increased from 36.4% to 41.5%. As anxiety and depressive disorders among young people have increased, so has the representation of these disorders in the media through celebrities who experience them.
Naomi Osaka, a tennis player who has been No. 1 in the world and won four Grand Slam tournaments, shocked the tennis community when she decided to forgo a press conference at the French Open after her first-round win in May of 2021. Because of her actions, she was fined $15,000 and was threatened by all four Grand Slam tournaments with disqualification or suspension if she continued to avoid the media. Osaka explained her actions as being a result of the bouts of depression and anxiety she felt before and after these media visits. After being fined, Osaka made the decision to drop out of the tournament, and wrote in her Time magazine essay, “perhaps we should give athletes the right to take a mental break from media scrutiny on a rare occasion without being subject to strict sanctions … I communicated that I wanted to skip press conferences at Roland Garros to exercise self-care and preservation of my mental health. I stand by that. Athletes are humans.”
Now, Osaka is viewed as an advocate and representative of the young people who go through mental health struggles like anxiety and depression. Her actions against the “tennis hierarchy” have shown that it is normal to raise questions about strong units of power that perpetuate stigmas that are contrary to one’s own beliefs and rights. "The intention was never to inspire revolt, but rather to look critically at our workplace and ask if we can do better," she wrote.
West Girls Tennis Captain, Abby Lin, looks up to Osaka. “The courage she had to speak openly about mental health, something that is incredibly stigmatized in today’s society--I can tell that she really cares about the game of tennis and her fans.” She went on to say that “a couple years ago, I was able to watch one of her practice sessions. There were hundreds of people lined up for autographs afterwards, and she spent over an hour making sure that everyone got one. Whereas most professionals sign one or two autographs and go on with their schedules, she stayed and spent time with her fans.”
Abby agreed with Osaka’s decision to leave the French Open. “Tennis is an incredibly mental sport, and you can’t play well if you’re thinking about other things,” she said. “Additionally, it shouldn’t matter whether she does press conferences or not. Her job is to play tennis, not to talk to the media.”
Regarding West’s tennis program and how it addresses mental health, Abby said “it has room to improve.”
As someone who has also been part of the program for all four years of high school, I agree with Abby. There is a huge pressure to perform well, especially since Girls Tennis at West has been very successful over the last few years. Often this pressure to perform ends up with results like burnout and overwork, which was evident this tennis season with five injuries on the Varsity team.
Osaka has started a new narrative in tennis, one we hope that West will follow in upcoming years.
October 2021
In the United States, over 40 million adults have an anxiety disorder. Between August 2020 and February 2021, the percentage of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or a depressive disorder increased from 36.4% to 41.5%. As anxiety and depressive disorders among young people have increased, so has the representation of these disorders in the media through celebrities who experience them.
Naomi Osaka, a tennis player who has been No. 1 in the world and won four Grand Slam tournaments, shocked the tennis community when she decided to forgo a press conference at the French Open after her first-round win in May of 2021. Because of her actions, she was fined $15,000 and was threatened by all four Grand Slam tournaments with disqualification or suspension if she continued to avoid the media. Osaka explained her actions as being a result of the bouts of depression and anxiety she felt before and after these media visits. After being fined, Osaka made the decision to drop out of the tournament, and wrote in her Time magazine essay, “perhaps we should give athletes the right to take a mental break from media scrutiny on a rare occasion without being subject to strict sanctions … I communicated that I wanted to skip press conferences at Roland Garros to exercise self-care and preservation of my mental health. I stand by that. Athletes are humans.”
Now, Osaka is viewed as an advocate and representative of the young people who go through mental health struggles like anxiety and depression. Her actions against the “tennis hierarchy” have shown that it is normal to raise questions about strong units of power that perpetuate stigmas that are contrary to one’s own beliefs and rights. "The intention was never to inspire revolt, but rather to look critically at our workplace and ask if we can do better," she wrote.
West Girls Tennis Captain, Abby Lin, looks up to Osaka. “The courage she had to speak openly about mental health, something that is incredibly stigmatized in today’s society--I can tell that she really cares about the game of tennis and her fans.” She went on to say that “a couple years ago, I was able to watch one of her practice sessions. There were hundreds of people lined up for autographs afterwards, and she spent over an hour making sure that everyone got one. Whereas most professionals sign one or two autographs and go on with their schedules, she stayed and spent time with her fans.”
Abby agreed with Osaka’s decision to leave the French Open. “Tennis is an incredibly mental sport, and you can’t play well if you’re thinking about other things,” she said. “Additionally, it shouldn’t matter whether she does press conferences or not. Her job is to play tennis, not to talk to the media.”
Regarding West’s tennis program and how it addresses mental health, Abby said “it has room to improve.”
As someone who has also been part of the program for all four years of high school, I agree with Abby. There is a huge pressure to perform well, especially since Girls Tennis at West has been very successful over the last few years. Often this pressure to perform ends up with results like burnout and overwork, which was evident this tennis season with five injuries on the Varsity team.
Osaka has started a new narrative in tennis, one we hope that West will follow in upcoming years.