#2 Ranked Naomi Osaka Quits French Open

What Naomi Osaka’s Withdraw from French Open Means for Bettors

Tennis fans are reeling after learning one of the French Open’s favorites to win the women’s Grand Slam Championship event has voluntarily withdrawn from the tournament. Naomi Osaka, one of the highest ranked tennis stars in the world, did just that.

On Monday, Osaka announced via Twitter that she would be taking a break from competition. That includes withdrawing from Roland-Garros (a.k.a. The French Open), despite having won her first match on Sunday. According to reports, Osaka made the decision due to her experiencing “huge waves of anxiety”, particularly before speaking with the press. No definitive word on how long she’ll sideline herself from competition.

Naomi Osaka Quits French Open Due to Anxiety

Prior to yesterday’s announcement, the 23 year old tennis superstar, ranked #2 in the world, posted the following Twitter status on May 26, affirming that she would not take part in media interviews.

NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ @naomiosaka · May 26

Hey Everyone- Hope you’re all doing well, I’m writing this to say I’m not going to do any press during Roland Garros. 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.

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. I’ve watched many clips of athletes breaking down after a loss in the press room and I know you have as well. I believe that whole situation is kicking a person while they’re down and I don’t understand the reasoning behind it.

Me not doing press is nothing personal to the tournament and a couple journalists have interviewed me since I was young so I have a friendly relationship with most of them. However, if the organizations thing that they can just keep saying, “do press or you’re gonna be fined”, and continue to ignore the mental health of the athletes that are the centerpiece of their corporation then I just gotta laugh.

Anyways, I hope the considerable amount that I get fined for this will go towards a mental health charity. Xoxo

Then on Sunday, May 30, Osaka faced off against Patricia Maria Tig in round one of the French Open. She defeated Tig in two sets, 6-4, 7-6. The next day, Osaka posted another Tweet, this time announcing she would “take some time away from the court.”

Osaka to Take a Break from Competition

Organizers of the annual Grand Slam event were quick to respond to the situation. Osaka was facing potential expulsion from the French Open for refusing to participate in press conferences and interviews. Naomi chose to take fate into her own hands.

Hey everyone, this isn’t a situation I ever imagined or intended when I posted a few days ago. 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.

I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer. More importantly I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly.

The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that. Anyone that knows me knows I’m introverted, and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety.

Though the tennis press had always been kind to me (and I wanna apologize especially to all the cool journalists who I may have hurt), I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world’s media. I get really nervous and find it stressful to always try to engage and give you the best answers I can.

So here in Paris I was already feeling vulnerable and anxious so I thought it was better to exercise self-care and skip the press conferences. I announced it preemptively because I do feel like the rules are quite outdated in parts and I wanted to highlight that. I wrote privately to the tournament apologizing and saying that I would be more than happy to speak with them after the tournament as the Slams are intense.

I’m gonna take some time away from the court now, but when the time is right I really want to work with the Tour to discuss ways we can make things better for the players, press and fans.

Anyways hope you are all doing well and staying safe, love you guys I’ll see you when I see you♥

Osaka has received overwhelming support from her fans, the professional tennis community, and even some prominent figures in the journalism industry. Some, however, responded less affably, saying that contractual obligation to speak with the press are all part of a professional athletes job description.

What Osaka’s Withdrawal from French Open Means for Bettors

As an aside, there’s a whole other segment of people who Osaka’s withdraw from the French Open has impacted. I’m talking about the sports bettors of Indiana and beyond; particularly those who had wagers on Namoi’s future in the Roland-Grasso. After all, she was among the most bet upon athletes to win the 2021 French Open.

Prior to the start of the Grand Slam event, Osaka was worthy of +1200 odds to win it all. According to reports, 29% of the futures wagers at PointsBet went to Osaka. She had 13% of the action at DraftKings. Over at BetMGM, she was the second most popular choice in tennis futures.

Not all sportsbooks are treating the situation with the same dignity and grace it deserves. William Hill, for example, is calling all futures bets on Osaka a loss for bettors, based on the grounds that she “played a full match before withdrawing”.

DraftKings and FanDuel are treating it more fairly, refunding all wagers made on the 4-time Grand Slam Champion. PointsBet chose to take a slightly different route, benefiting from the publicity around Osaka’s withdraw by calling its refunds a “promotion”. Anyone who bet on Naomi to win the title will get their money back, but not in cash. Instead, those refunds are coming in the form of “free play”.

With the controversy still heating up, BetRivers Sportsbook, along with all of their competitors, have removed all French Open Futures action from the boards.