Naomi Osaka's French Open Withdrawal Spurs Questions About Athletes and the Press

The debate over the necessity of postgame news conferences — and the broader relationship between reporters and athletes — has been renewed by Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion.

As The Washington Post reports, Osaka, 23, announced during the French Open that she would not participate in post-match news conferences during this year’s tournament, saying she experiences depression and anxiety when facing a room of reporters. Winning a Grand Slam tournament usually requires eight news conferences.

In response, the French Open fined her $15,000. All four Grand Slams issued a statement that promised to escalate the penalties, including a possible suspension. Osaka subsequently withdrew from the tournament, a move that prompted sports organizations and the journalists who cover them to ponder what athletes owe the press — and in turn, what leagues and tournaments owe the players. 

“There is interest in these tournaments because of the stars like Osaka,” said Jane McManus, director of the Center for Sports Communication at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. “If she’s not talking to reporters, will there be as much coverage for the next Naomi Osaka?”

Osaka’s decision arrives at a time when more and more athletes prefer to communicate through their own social media platforms and production companies, rather than talk to reporters. The pandemic closed locker rooms, further reducing press access to athletes. 

In a column for The Guardian, sportswriter Jonathan Liew noted that athletes "are expected to answer the most intimate questions in a cynical and often predatory environment." As he wrote: "There’s an odd ritualistic quality to all this: the same characters sitting in the same seats, the same cliches, all these millions of wasted words, the unopened bottles of mineral water. Is there not a better way of doing this?"