The final athlete we are highlighting in this year’s Black History Month series is an athlete that some consider the first in a year that encouraged several athletes start discussing their mental health (like Simone Biles).
In May 2021, Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open to protect her mental health.
The French Open is a major tennis tournament held each year in Paris, France. The second of the four Grand Slam tournaments, it has the distinction of being the only one performed on clay courts.
This withdrawal shook the tennis world. Osaka was then 23 and ranked number two in the world. Fans would soon learn why she seemingly walked away at the top of her game.
Osaka explained, “The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that.”
“I think now 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,” Osaka wrote. “I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer. More importantly I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly.”
Last year, she returned to competing. “Saying out loud that I’ll take a break and I’ll come back when I am truly in love with the sport and I know what I want to do here, it gave me time to reset.”
After sharing her struggles with depression and anxiety with her fans, she has also shared what has helped her. “Lately, I’ve been writing in my journal, and I think that it keeps my thoughts in order,” she said. “I feel like it gives me clarity on what I want to do and what I want to accomplish.”
Multiracial, Osaka is the first Asian player to be ranked number one in the world. And is also a four-time Grand Slam singles champion, with two Australian Open and two US Open titles. Her seven titles on the WTA Tour also include two at the Premier Mandatory level. At the 2018 US Open and the 2019 Australian Open, Osaka won her first two major titles in back-to-back tournaments. She was the first woman to win successive major singles titles since Serena Williams in 2015, and the first to win her first two in successive majors since Jennifer Capriati in 2001.
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