Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka on Sunday was threatened with disqualification from the French Open if she persisted with her controversial media boycott, officials said.
“We have advised Naomi Osaka that should she continue to ignore her media obligations, she would be exposing herself to possible further code of conduct infringement consequences,” said a statement from the four Grand Slam tournaments after the world No. 2 was fined US$15,000.
“Repeat violations attract tougher sanctions including default from the tournament and the trigger of a major offence investigation that could lead to more substantial fines and future Grand Slam suspensions,” the statement said.
Photo: AP
Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam winner, was sanctioned for refusing to hold a news conference after her opening 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Romanian world No. 63 Patricia Maria Tig.
The 23-year-old had said on the eve of the tournament that she would not carry out any media obligations, claiming news conferences are detrimental to her mental health.
She likened traditional post-match inquests to “kicking people when they’re down.”
French Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton had described Osaka’s vow of silence as “a phenomenal error.”
The four Grand Slam events — Wimbledon, and the French, Australian and US Opens — said that they had written to Osaka “to check on her well-being and offer support.”
“She was also reminded of her obligations, the consequences of not meeting them and that rules should equally apply to all players,” the statement said. “Naomi Osaka today chose not to honour her contractual media obligations. The Roland Garros referee has therefore issued her a [US]$15,000 fine.”
Later on Sunday, Osaka’s position became more entrenched when she responded to her fine on Twitter.
“Anger is a lack of understanding. Change makes people uncomfortable,” she wrote.
After her match, Osaka agreed only to a cursory on-court television interview.
“For me, playing on clay is a work in progress,” the reigning US Open and Australian Open champion said on Court Philippe Chatrier. “Hopefully, the more I play, the better I will become.”
And that was that from a player who has now strung together 15 successive Grand Slam match wins.
The Grand Slam Board said that Osaka’s refusal to take part in media duties put opponents at a disadvantage.
“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 honour their commitments,” it said.
If Osaka was to be disqualified, it would be as sensational as Novak Djokovic’s default at last year’s US Open, when the world No. 1 was booted out for hitting a line judge with a ball.
Osaka’s defiant stand overshadowed the opening day of the French Open, which saw two-time runner-up Dominic Thiem crash out at the first hurdle.
Fourth seed and US Open champion Thiem, who had never been beaten in the first round in seven previous visits, squandered a two-set lead to lose 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to 35-year-old Pablo Andujar of Spain.
“Losing after being two sets to zero up, it’s very strange to me, and I have to think about what’s wrong at the moment,” Thiem said.
Andujar said that his win over Roger Federer in Geneva, Switzerland, last month ranked higher.
“For me, he is like a myth,” the Spaniard said of Federer.
Fresh from her first career clay-court title in Madrid, Belarusian third seed Aryna Sabalenka eased past Croatian qualifier Ana Konjuh 6-4, 6-3.
World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas rounded off the day with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-3, 6-1 victory over Jeremy Chardy.
The Greek is widely tipped as a potential champion should 13-time winner Rafael Nadal or Djokovic falter.
However, there was nobody inside the cavernous Chatrier Court to assess his credentials as the match started just before a 9pm COVID-19 curfew came into effect.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was