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French Open Twitter account throws shade at Naomi Osaka over media blackout

Ryan Young
·Staff writer
·2 min read

The Roland Garros official Twitter account appeared to throw shade at Naomi Osaka on Saturday in a now-deleted tweet following the news of her media blackout at the French Open.

The account shared four photos of other players meeting with reporters at the tournament with the caption, “They understood the assignment.”

The tweet was later deleted.

Naomi Osaka’s media blackout

Osaka announced Wednesday on Twitter that she would not be speaking with any reporters throughout the tournament in Paris, citing mental health concerns for athletes.

"I've often felt that people have no regard for athletes mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one,” she wrote, in part. “We're often sat there and asked questions that we've been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I'm just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me."

Osaka also sent an email to tournament organizers explaining her decision, and insisted that the move “is 100% nothing against the French Open or even the press members themselves.”

“This stance is against the system requiring athletes to be forced to do press on occasions when they are suffering from mental health,” Osaka wrote, in part. “I believe it is archaic and in need of reform. After this tournament I want to work with the Tours and the governing bodies to figure out how we best compromise to change the system.”

While Osaka has more than made her position clear, that message seems like it didn’t quite land with everyone over at Roland Garros.

The French Open is set to start Sunday in Paris. Osaka, 23, has +1600 odds at BetMGM of winning the Grand Slam tournament.

Naomi Osaka at the 2021 French Open
A tweet from the official Roland-Garros account seemed to slam Naomi Osaka for refusing to meet with reporters at the French Open on Saturday. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images) (Tim Clayton - Corbis via Getty Images)

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