Facing the media will be “very disagreeable” but it is part of tennis, said world number one Novak Djokovic, as debate continued to rage on Friday over Naomi Osaka’s decision to boycott press conferences at the French Open.
Women’s world number two Osaka stunned the tennis world when she announced she would not do any press conferences at the Grand Slam to protect her mental health, prompting criticism from French Tennis Federation President Gilles Moretton.
Djokovic said Osaka, “probably (had) her reasons why” however fell wanting endorsing the four-times Grand Slam champion’s transfer.
“I perceive that press conferences generally will be very disagreeable,” Djokovic told reporters after beating Federico Coria 6-1 6-0 to reach the Belgrade Open semi-finals on Thursday.
“And it’s not something that you enjoy, always, you know, especially if you lose a match or something like this.
“But it is part of the sport and part of your life on the tour. This is something we have to do, otherwise, we will get fined.
“I mean, that’s at least the case on the men’s side. I don’t know about the rules on the women’s side. So that’s all I can say.”
According to Grand Slam guidelines, gamers should attend post-match media conferences inside half-hour of their match ending or be topic to fines of as much as $20,000 until injured or bodily unable to look.
Serbian Djokovic has fallen foul of the rule, receiving a fantastic of $7,500 after skipping media following his disqualification from the 2019 U.S. Open for hitting a ball right into a line choose’s throat.
Retired Australian professional-turned-media pundit Sam Groth mentioned Osaka’s boycott was a “slap within the face” to the sport and said cutting off journalists while remaining engaged on social media was “hypocrisy”.
“Media conferences are attended by accredited members of the media, lots of whom have established significant rapports with gamers,” he wrote in a column in Melbourne’s Herald-Sun newspaper on Friday.
“Social media platforms are a bottomless void of trolls and bots who are answerable to no-one and have few policies of decency.”
Osaka drew assist from British tennis participant and BBC commentator Naomi Broady, who mentioned officers might have a look at modifying the foundations for obligatory media conferences.
“If it was simply extra time after that huge loss, as a way to compose your self and digest and cry out of the highlight … ,” she said.
“If it’s on an occasion when you are so upset it’s difficult that you’re almost forced by the rules to do it so quickly.”
Former world primary doubles participant Rennae Stubbs, an ESPN commentator, additionally backed Osaka, tweeting that it was “an incredible second” for the media to listen to the players and understand “how tough it is for many of them”.
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