Rafa believes the press plays an important role when it comes to sport, so he respects Naomi Osaka’s decision not to participate in the media coverage at the French Open.
As the world’s No. NAOMI OSAKA player announced this week, she will not be speaking to the media at Roland Garros in an effort to protect her mental health, saying that forcing players to give press conferences after defeats is
“kicking a person while they’re down”.
The WTA has encouraged the four-time Grand Slam winner to open discussions with them about her decision, but also maintained that players have a responsibility.
According to Novak Djokovic, it is part of the job. Meanwhile, twenty-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal stated that the media is a vital part of helping players achieve success globally.
“I respect it,”
he said.
“I respect her, of course, as an athlete and her personality. I respect her decision. I don’t know. I mean, we as sports people, I mean, we need to be ready to accept the questions and to try to produce an answer, no?
“I understand her, but on the other hand, for me, I mean, without the press, without the people who normally travel, who are writing the news and achievements that we are having around the world, we probably will not be the athletes that we are today. We [wouldn’t] have the recognition that we have around the world, and we will not be that popular, no?”
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