PARIS - World number one Novak Djokovic on Tuesday hailed Naomi Osaka as "brave and bold" for withdrawing from the French Open after revealing her struggles with depression and anxiety.
"I support her. I think she was very brave to do that. I'm really sorry that she is going through painful times and suffering mentally, is what I have heard," said Djokovic after reaching the second round of the tournament.
"This was, I must say, a very bold decision from her side.
"If she needs to take time and reflect and just recharge that's what she needed to do, and I respect it fully. I hope that she'll come back stronger."
World number two and four-time major winner Osaka pulled out on Monday after she was fined $15,000 and threatened with disqualification for refusing to attend press conferences.
Osaka claimed traditional post-match media conferences are akin to "kicking people when they're down" and were having a detrimental effect on her mental health.
She revealed she had been suffering bouts of depression since her 2018 US Open title breakthrough as well as anxiety attacks.
"There's a sense of voyeurism around how it presently works," wrote Peter Terry, a professor of psychology at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia on theconversation.com.
"Osaka is a young, introverted, anxious person. We should by now understand that sports stars are not super human, that they have the same doubts and mental health issues as everyone else." - AFP, 3 June, 2021
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