Naomi Osaka – the 23-year old Japanese tennis star – on Monday, pulled out of the ongoing French Open following fallout after her media boycott. She did not attend the mandatory press conference following her first-round win on Day 1 of the French Open. The number two seed beat Patricia Maria Tig of Romania 6-4, 7-6 in straight sets.

On Monday, Osaka took to Twitter and wrote, “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.”

Naomi also went on to admit that she did not want to be a distraction and the timing may not have been the best. She also revealed her bout with depression after the 2018 US Open.

“I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer. The truth is I have suffered bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that,” she said in her statement.

She added: “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 I announced it preemptively because I do feel like the rules are quite outdated in parts and I wanted to highlight that.”