By Richard Pagliaro
Talk is cheap.
Naomi Osaka's silence could prove costly.
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The four-time Grand Slam champion was fined $15,000 for skipping her mandatory post-match press conference following her 6-4, 7-6 Roland Garros opening-round win over Patricia Maria Tig today.
The four Grand Slam tournaments said in a joint statement, if Osaka continues to miss mandatory press conferences, she will face more substantial fines, a potential default and possible future Grand Slam suspensions.
Though Osaka did conduct a brief on-court interview with Fabrice Santoro, she stuck by her pre-tournament statement that she will not conduct any post-match press conference during the French Open fortnight due to her concerns over mental health issues.
"I'm just not going to subject myself to people who doubt me," Osaka posted on social media. "I believe that whole situation is kicking a person while they're down and I don't understand the reasoning behind it."
In an effort to address the Osaka controversy—and perhaps quash other players from adopting similar silence—the four Grand Slams issued a rare joint statement announcing if the world No. 2 continues to opt out of mandatory pressers, she will face stiffer consequences. Penalties could escalate to "more substantial fines and future Grand Slam suspensions," the Slams said in a statement.
While threatening to boot a player may sound harsh, the Grand Slams say Osaka is not only out of line for ignoring media responsibilities, she's gaining an unfair competitive edge over the rest of the field who are meeting media obligations.
"We have advised Naomi Osaka that should she continue to ignore her media obligations during the tournament, she would be exposing herself to possible further Code of Conduct infringement consequences," the Grand Slams said in a statement. "As might be expected, repeat violations attract tougher sanctions including default from the tournament (Code of Conduct article III T.) and the trigger of a major offence investigation that could lead to more substantial fines and future Grand Slam suspensions (Code of Conduct article IV A.3.).
"We want to underline that rules are in place to ensure all players are treated exactly the same, no matter their stature, beliefs or achievement. As a sport 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 others all honor their commitments."
The Grand Slams said after Osaka's announcement last week, they all reached out to her to offer help for her mental health concerns, but claim their written requests were met with silence by Osaka and her team. Consquently, she has been fined $15,000 for refusing participation in today's post-match presser.
"Following the lack of engagement by Naomi Osaka, the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open jointly wrote to her to check on her well-being and offer support, underline their commitment to all athletes’ well-being and suggest dialog on the issues," the statement said. "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 honour her contractual media obligations. The Roland-Garros referee has therefore issued her a $15,000 fine, in keeping with article III H. of the Code of Conduct."
The Grand Slams reiterated their stance that fulfilling media obligations is part of a pro player's job.
"A core element of the Grand Slam regulations is the responsibility of the players to engage with the media, whatever the result of their match, a responsibility which players take for the benefit of the sport, the fans and for themselves," the Slams said. "These interactions allow both the players and the media to share their perspective and for the players to tell their story. The facilitation of media to a broad array of channels, both traditional and digital, is a major contributor to the development and growth of our sport and the fan base of individual players."
Photo credit: Australian Open Facebook