Naomi Osaka has made her first public appearance since withdrawing from the French Open and Wimbledon — and for a very special occasion.
Michael Loccisano/Getty
Osaka, who previously shared that she’s suffered from depression since 2018, has largely stayed out of the public eye in efforts to focus on her mental health. Ahead of the French Open’s start in late May, Osaka said she would not be taking part in the tournament’s press conferences. After her first French Open victory, she skipped a post-match press conference and was fined $15,000 for not participating in media requirements.
Then in June, Osaka chose not to play in the 2021 Wimbledon tournament.
Want to get the biggest stories fromPEOPLEevery weekday?Subscribe to our new podcast,PEOPLE Every Day,to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.
The athlete recently penned apersonal essayforTIMEand opened up about the pressure she felt to cite mental health as her reason for withdrawing. “In any other line of work, you would be forgiven for taking a personal day here and there, so long as it’s not habitual. You wouldn’t have to divulge your most personal symptoms to your employer; there would likely be HR measures protecting at least some level of privacy,” Osaka wrote. “In my case, I felt under a great amount of pressure to disclose my symptoms — frankly because the press and the tournament did not believe me. I do not wish that on anyone and hope that we can enact measures to protect athletes, especially the fragile ones.”
The No. 2 ranked tennis player continued, “I feel uncomfortable being the spokesperson or face of athlete mental health as it’s still so new to me and I don’t have all the answers. I do hope that people can relate and understand it’s okay to not be okay, and it’s okay to talk about it. There are people who can help, and there is usually light at the end of any tunnel.”
Naomi Osaka.Michael Loccisano/Getty
Next, Osaka is headed to Tokyo to represent Japan at the Olympics, which will be her first major competition since May.
In addition, Osaka will give her fans an unprecedented look at her personal life and career highlights when her Netflix documentaryNaomi Osakapremieres on July 16.
source: people.com
