Djokovic backs 'brave and bold' Osaka after French Open withdrawal
Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns the ball to Tennys Sandgren of the US during their men's singles first round tennis match on Day 3 of The Roland Garros 2021 French Open tennis tournament in Paris on June 1, 2021.
She was fined $15,000 (about Sh1.5 million) and threatened with disqualification from Roland Garros after she refused to honour mandatory media commitments.
She claims they are detrimental to her mental health and likened the traditional post-match news conference to "kicking people when they're down".
Djokovic also hinted at the generational shift in the sport where traditional mainstream media is often eclipsed by an athlete's own social media platforms.
Osaka has 2.3 million followers on Instagram. On Twitter, she only follows 18 people.
Paris, France
World number one Novak Djokovic hailed Naomi Osaka as "brave and bold" for withdrawing from the French Open and revealing her struggles with anxiety and depression but admitted he wasn't surprised she had been threatened with a Grand Slam ban.
