Naomi Osaka shocks netizens with THIS tennis-first at French Open 2021; more details here

Just days after making history and becoming the highest-paid female athlete in history, Naomi Osaka is once again grabbing headlines. Since winning the Australian Open this year, the Japanese ace has failed to go deep at her remaining tournaments, with the Naomi Osaka ranking slipping to No.2 after a high at No.1 in 2019. Under pressure to perform at the French Open, where she has never made it past Round 3, Osaka has taken a historic step to ensure that none of the noise from outside her camp gets to her as she aims to win the elusive cup.

Naomi Osaka boycotts press at French Open 2021

Training ahead of the French Open 2021, World No.2 Naomi Osaka made the bombshell declaration that she will not be doing any press events during the Slam. Taking to Twitter, Osaka posted a heartfelt but strong note saying "I’m writing this to say I’m not going to do any press during Roland Garros. Pushing forward the ongoing topic of mental health, she also added "I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes' mental health and this rings true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one".

While Osaka's admission that “We’re often sat there and asked questions bring doubt into our minds and I’m just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me" has many examples to back it - re: Serena Williams breaking down at her post-match conference after her early Australian Open exit this year - the rules at Grand Slams specifically state that all players have a duty to complete their press obligations before and after games. 

Addressing this, Osaka wrote that she does not appreciate the organizations making money off of "athletes that are the centrepieces of their cooperation" while ignoring their well-being. Signing off, she wrote that she hoped that "the considerable amount" she is bound to be fined goes to a mental health charity. The post has not received any replies from the WTA yet. This is not the first time in recent months that the No.2 has taken a tough stand on an issue - the Naomi Osaka Black Lives Matter masks were the first hint of the BLM in the tennis circuit.

Naomi Osaka net worth

Not just one of the most skilled, but also one of the most marketable athletes in the world, Naomi Osaka's net worth has shot up manifold in the last few years. Since her dramatic launch into the tennis world at the 2018 US Open, where she defeated Serena Williams, the Japanese ace has come out of her shell to become of the most outspoken and influential new faces on the Women's tour. Her bold style choices have earned her lucrative partnerships with brands like Louis Vuitton, Tag Heuer, BodyArmor, Nissan, Citizen, Shiseido, Nissin, MasterCard and Procter & Gamble.

According to a Forbes report, Osaka earned a mammoth $10 million from her deal with Nike alone, putting her earnings in the last year at a cool $55 million - eclipsing Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams and making her the highest-paid female athlete ever. Ranked No. 29 in the 100 highest-paid athletes list, $19,773,132 of her estimated $25 million net worth, comes from prize money earnings. Osaka's ventures and investments usually also have a social awareness side to them, with Black Lives Matter featuring heavily in her works in the last year.

DISCLAIMER: The above Naomi Osaka net worth information is sourced from various websites/ media reports. The website does not guarantee a 100% accuracy of the figures.

Image Credits: Naomi Osaka Twitter