Naomi Osaka withdraws from the French Open, drawing support from tennis fans

Sports fans rallied around Naomi Osaka and her decision to withdraw from the French Open.

Naomi Osaka is one of tennis’s biggest and brightest stars of the future, and her announcement on Monday that she was withdrawing from the French Open and is taking a leave of absence from the sport sent ripples through the community. The announcement on social media came off the heels of the news that the 23-year-old was fined $15,000 by the French Open — and warned of possible future consequences — for missing mandatory media availability just days after Osaka announced she would not be speaking to the press at the event.

In Osaka’s announcement on Monday, the No. 2 ranked women’s tennis player detailed her struggles with mental health and depression since rising to fame after her 2018 U.S. Open victory. Osaka stated that she “never wanted to be a distraction” and that she was set to “take some time away from the court” with no set date for her return.

Tennis fans — and sports fans overall — rallied around Osaka’s open and honest announcement, lauding the 23-year-old for bringing mental health to the forefront of the conversation.