Naomi Osaka says Meghan Markle and Michelle Obama were among those to offer support after French Open decision
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Mikhaila Friel
Jul 9, 2021, 20:36 IST
Naomi Osaka said Meghan Markle and Michelle Obama reached out after she quit the French Open.
Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images, VCG/VCG via Getty Images, Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Glamour
Naomi Osaka says Meghan Markle and Michelle Obama reached out after she quit the French Open.
Osaka thanked Markle and Obama in an essay for TIME, where she wrote about mental health.
Both Obama and Markle previously opened up about their own struggles.
In a statement about the decision to withdraw, published in May, Osaka wrote that she had experienced bouts of depression since the 2018 US Open and that she gets "huge waves of anxiety" before speaking to the media.
Writing in the TIME essay, the 23-year-old reflected on how scrutiny from the press has impacted her mental health. She also called for the reform of sports press conferences, saying they should be "less subject vs. object; more peer to peer."
"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," Osaka wrote.
"Tennis is our privileged profession, and of course there are commitments off the court that coincide. But I can't imagine another profession where a consistent attendance record (I have missed one press conference in my seven years on tour) would be so harshly scrutinized," she added.
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Osaka went on to thank those who have supported her, including "my family and friends, who have been amazing. There is nothing more important than those relationships."
"I also want to thank those in the public eye who have supported, encouraged and offered such kind words," she wrote, adding that Michelle Obama, Michael Phelps, Steph Curry, Novak Djokovic, and Meghan Markle were among those to offer support.
Osaka didn't elaborate on what was said by the individuals who reached out to her.
Markle and Obama have spoken publicly about their own mental health in the past
"I surround myself with things that make me feel good - family, friends, walks, exercise. So when I talk to my kids about that, I try to urge them to understand that the valleys are temporary, and so are the peaks. They have to be prepared to handle the highs and the lows," Obama said.
Speaking to Oprah Winfrey in March, Markle said: "I was ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry. But I knew that if I didn't say it - then I would do it."
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