The four-time Grand Slam singles champion, Naomi Osaka has been threatened with disqualification from the French Open. Along with the elimination threat, Naomi has been fined $15,000 for not attending the press conference following her first-round win against Romanian Patrica Maria Tig.
Japanese Superstar Naomi might get suspended from French Open if she continues with her controversial media boycott. “We have advised Naomi Osaka that she should not ignore the media, otherwise, she would be exposing herself to possible further code of conduct infringement consequence,” said a statement from the four Grand Slam tournaments.
“As might be expected, repeat violations attract tougher sanctions including default from the tournament,” the statement added.
The 23 years old Naomi Osaka had revealed on the eve of the tournament that she would refuse to carry out any media obligations, claiming news conferences are detrimental to her mental health. She said that she believes “traditional post-match inquests are akin to kicking people when they are down.”
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However, the four Grand Slam events have issued a joint statement saying that they had written to Naomi Osaka ‘to check her well-being and offer support. “She was also reminded of her obligations, the consequences of not meeting them and that rules should equally apply to all players. Naomi Osaka today chose not to honor her contractual media obligations. The Roland Garros referee has therefore issued her a $15,000 fine.
The Grand Slam heads also said, “There is nothing more important than ensuring no player has an unfair advantage over another, which unfortunately is the case in this situation if one player refuses to dedicate time to participate in media commitments while the other honor their commitments".