PARIS: Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open on Monday following the bitter fall-out from her decision to boycott all media activity, revealing she has “suffered long bouts of depression” and will now “take some time away from the court”.
“The best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris,” the world number two wrote on Twitter.
The 23-year-old Japanese star was fined $15,000 on Sunday and threatened with disqualification after she refused to carry out a mandatory news conference following her first round win.
She claimed on the eve of Roland Garros that such post-match inquests were akin to “kicking people when they are down”…
