It's Ok Not To Be Ok

Tennis Champion Naomi Osaka proved that walking away sometimes takes more courage than choosing to “tough it out”

- Jonathan Ho

ON 31 MAY 2021, then world no.2 women’s tennis champion Naomi Osaka shocked the world by announcing her complete withdrawal from the French Open after receiving a fine and threats of expulsion. It shocked the world, because right until Osaka’s stance, a star athlete dropping out of a major tennis tournament over mental health issues had been perceived as a sign of weakness.

“This isn’t a situation I ever imagined or intended when I posted a few days ago,” Osaka wrote on social media. “I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris. Osaka had been suffering “long bouts of depression” and salt to injury, she received criticism from viewers who felt that media events are “part of the job.”