New Delhi: Japanese superstar and world number two, Naomi Osaka was fined $15,000 on Sunday along with a warning of disqualification from the French Open if she continues to boycott media. A statement from the four Grand Slams said, “We have advised Naomi Osaka that should she continue to ignore her media obligations, she would be exposing herself to possible further code of conduct infringement consequences.”
They further said, “As might be expected, repeat violations attract tougher sanctions including default from the tournament.”
Osaka is the highest paid female athlete of the sport and is also a four-time Grand Slam title winner. She was fined for refusing to hold a press conference after her first victory against Romanian Patricia Maria Tig by 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).
Earlier, the 23-year-old had said some days before the tournament, that she will not carry out any media obligations or press conferences as they affect her mental health. She said that these traditional post-match interviews are just like “kicking people when they’re down”.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 26, 2021
However, the four Grand Slam events — Wimbledon, the French, Australian and US Opens, issued a joint statement on Sunday, which said that they have written to Osaka “to check on her well-being and offer support”.
The statement further said, “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.”
Osaka agreed to a cursory on-court TV interview after her match with Patricia in which she said, “For me, playing on clay is a work in progress.” The current US and Australian Open champion further said, “Hopefully the more I play, the better I will become.”
Till now, Osaka has never made it past the third round in Paris and is set to face another Romanian in the second round as Ana Bogdan.
Media Commitments
The Grand Slam heads added that Osaka’s boycott of media duties put her opponents at a disadvantage.
They said, “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.”
If Osaka is disqualified from the tournament then it would be as infamous as last year’s disqualification of world number one, Novak Djokovic from US Open for hitting a line judge with a ball.
