Naomi Osaka And Destigmatizing Mental Health Among Athletes
Naomi Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the French Open and be transparent about her struggles, brings about a much needed conversation about the prioritization of mental health over work! We discuss it here!
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 26, 2019: 2019 Australian Open Champion Naomi Osaka of Japan during press conference following her win in the final match at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park
Credit: Leonard Zhukovsky
By: Cory Utsey
Naomi Osaka became quite the household name after defeating former No. 1 women’s single tennis player Serena Williams in 2018. Since then, she has amassed much success as a four-time Grand Slam singles champion, and on Monday May 31, she announced that she would be withdrawing from the Roland Garros French Open.
Naomi Osaka withdraws from the French Open to focus on her mental health.
— 247 Live Culture (@247LC) May 31, 2021
Osaka was recently fined $15,000 for not speaking to the press.
“I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world’s media.” pic.twitter.com/Jde8TwYjng
In a statement that was released on Twitter and Instagram, Osaka attributed her decision to withdraw to the prioritization of her mental health, as she has long dealt with periods of depression and anxiety.
The announcement of her withdrawal came days after a previous statement in which she announced that she would not be talking to any press during the French Open, citing the media’s general disregard for the mental health of athletes as her reasoning. She was fined $15,000 for her decision to do so.
Her decision has been praised by a number of people and companies, including Nike, Mastercard, Venus Williams and Serena Williams.
Osaka is no stranger to outspokenness or advocacy, as she often uses her platform to speak on police brutality and racial injustice. She has ultimately shown that athletes are still people whose mental health should be prioritized just as much, if not more than, their physical capabilities and contractual obligations.
This is extremely important in the fight to destigmatize mental health conditions among all people, and especially athletes.
The National Institute of Mental Health reports that approximately one in five adults living in the United States suffer from mental illness. Not only do these illnesses vary in severity, but they often have a direct impact on physical health, as they affect one’s ability and desire to engage in behaviors that are healthy.
Although various studies have shown that staying physically healthy and engaged can boost one’s mood and mental health, this does not make athletes exempt from dealing with mental health related issues.
Athletes For Health, a nonprofit dedicated to keeping athletes engaged with the community, states that 33 percent of college students, including student athletes, suffer from mental health related conditions. Of this group, 30 percent of college students seek help for their mental health, but among college athletes, the number of individuals who seek help only falls at 10 percent.
In regards to professional athletes, the number of people who deal with mental health crises such as burnout, anxiety or disordered eating falls at approximately 35 percent.
Professional athletes are susceptible to the everyday conditions that have the ability to adversely affect one’s mental health, along with the added pressure to perform well and maintain public image.
Osaka herself cites the stress and pressure of engaging with the media and saying the “right things” as one that takes a toll.
Her decision to be transparent about her struggles, along with the subsequent prioritization of mental health over work, is one that can certainly be considered admirable.
Mental health is something that all people must keep at the forefront of the decisions they make and the directions they go. Although many are sad to see Osaka’s brief hiatus from the court, her well-being is much more important than titles or accolades.
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The Future of Tennis Is In Good Hands With Coco Gauff
At just 15 years old, Cori “Coco” Gauff has put the tennis world on notice that she is here to stay! We discuss her quick rise to prominence!
Photo by: Shi Tang/Getty Images
By: Tialena Evans
At just 15 years old, Cori “Coco” Gauff put the world on notice as she rose to prominence with a first round upset in 2019 at Wimbledon against one of the greatest to ever do it, Venus Williams. Gauff won her first Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles title at the 2019 Linz Open, which brings no surprise as to why she is the youngest player ranked in the top 100 by WTA. The young star also holds a career-high ranking of No. 66 in the world, which is pretty impressive considering she still has to find time to manage her schoolwork in between training and matches in different parts of the world.
Inspired by the Sister-Act
The Delray Beach, Florida native experimented with a variety of sports as a child, but chose to stick with tennis. As many people expected, Gauff was inspired to pick up the sport by watching her idols, the Williams sisters.
“Serena Williams has always been my idol...and Venus” she has said. “They are the reason why I wanted to pick up a tennis racket”.
After defeating Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2019, Coco eagerly approached the net to commend Venus as they shook hands after the match. “ I was just telling her thank you for everything she’s done for the sport,” said Coco. “ She’s been an inspiration for many people. I was just really telling her thank you.
Photo By Getty Images
Superstar in the Making
With Serena Williams being universally known as the “Queen” of the game, Coco Gauff has emerged as the “Princess”. Williams has secured her spot as arguably the greatest professional women’s tennis player, by holding the the world No. 1 rank in singles on eight separate occasions, winning four Olympic gold medals, and collecting 23 major singles titles, which is the most by any man or woman in the Open Era. Williams also holds the most Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles combined among active players.
Now, while Gauff has nowhere near the amount of William’s accolades, she is well on pace to becoming a superstar in the near future. Everyone tries to find ways in comparing them just on the base that they both found themselves as young stars, coming into the game and excelling greatly and earlier than most. But, an interesting reason why Gauff has been hailed as the next Serena Williams is the fact that they both share a coach in Patrick Mouratoglou. Gauff has been training with Mouratoglou at his tennis facilities in Southern France for five years now, since she was 10. Mouratoglou has praised Gauff as a phenomenal player, and has acknowledged that she has what it takes to become the next great tennis star, especially because she is so driven. He even proclaimed that there are “no limits” when it comes to her career aspirations.
Gauff continued to make her statement as a future superstar during the Australian Open, by defeating Venus Williams once again in straight sets in the first round. She then went on to advance all the way to the fourth round, taking out defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third. Gauff’s impressive run in the Australian Open puts her as the youngest player to defeat a top 5 player since Jennifer Capriati beat Gabriela Sabatini at the 1991 US Open.
Although Coco Gauff and Serena Williams have never played a match against one another, it will definitely be a performance that we all can’t wait to witness. Gauff has already upset one half of the Williams duo, but with a victory over Serena, she just might possibly make the world stand still for a few moments.