Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open 2021: Here’s all you need to know

Late on Monday night in Paris, when the first round action at Roland Garros was ongoing, Naomi Osaka announced her withdrawal from the tournament following the fall-out from her decision to boycott media activity at the Grand Slam, saying she has “suffered long bouts of depression” and needed to “take some time away from the court”.

Full text: ‘I never wanted to be a distraction’ – Naomi Osaka announces withdrawal from French Open

It was an unsavoury end to an episode that escalated in the first two days of the Grand Slam after the 23-year-old announced last week that she would not be doing the mandatory press conferences at Roland Garros. She had said then that they had a detrimental effect on her mental health and even in her original statement, accepted that she would pay the fine instead.

The Japanese star was indeed fined $15,000 on Sunday following her first round win but the issue snowballed further when she was informed of further consequences, including a possible disqualification from the event and future Major suspension, in a joint-statement by all four Grand Slams. The statement also said that Osaka had not engaged in a discussion about her decision when approached.

The issue came to a head when…

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