TOPLINE Champion tennis player Naomi Osaka announced Monday afternoon on Twitter that she will withdraw from the French Open after organizers fined her $15,000 over her decision to boycott press conferences during the event for mental health reasons.



KEY FACTS The decision came one day after Roland Garros, the organizer of the French Open, announced that Osaka would be fined for not attending a mandatory press conference Sunday morning in Paris.



Osaka, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, beat out Romanian player Patricia Maria Țig in straight sets Sunday morning, but skipped out on the traditional post-match presser after saying last week that facing media questions can be harmful for athletes’ mental health.



&#8220;I never wanted to be a distraction,&#8221; the 23-year-old said on Twitter Monday, adding that she&#8217;s &#8220;suffered long bouts of depression since the U.S. Open in 2018&#8221; and gets &#8220;huge waves of anxiety before&#8221; speaking in press conferences.



CRUCIAL QUOTE &#8220;This isn&#8217;t a situation I ever imagined or intended when I posted a few days ago,&#8221; Osaka said Monday. &#8220;I think now 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.&#8221;



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://t.co/LN2ANnoAYD">pic.twitter.com/LN2ANnoAYD</a>&mdash; NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) <a href="https://twitter.com/naomiosaka/status/1399422304854188037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Osaka&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/naomiosaka/status/1397665030015959040?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;on Twitter last week that she would not do any press conferences during the open because she felt they perpetuated a disregard for athletes&#8217; mental health, citing examples of athletes breaking down in a press room after a tough loss. “I believe that the whole situation is&nbsp;kicking a person while they’re down,&nbsp;and I don’t understand the reasoning behind it,” she said. After Osaka didn’t show to the Sunday press conference, organizers of the four Grand Slams—the world’s most prestigious tennis tournaments, including the French and U.S. Opens—said in a statement that “a core element of the Grand Slam regulations is the responsibility of the players to engage with the media, whatever the result of their match.” They also warned that&nbsp;if Osaka further violated any media obligations, she could receive additional fines, as well as face suspension from the Paris tournament and even future&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/article/statement-from-grand-slam-tournaments-regarding-naomi-osaka" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Grand Slam tournament suspensions</a>.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h4>



Osaka received an outpouring of support on social media following her tournament withdrawal, with many people—including celebrities, politicians and fellow athletes—wishing her well and applauding her decision to speak up about mental health. “As athletes we are taught to take care of our body, and perhaps the mental &amp; emotional aspect gets short shrift,” Martina Navratilova, often considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Martina/status/1399443582671540231" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;shortly after Osaka’s announcement. “This is about more than doing or not doing a press conference.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h4>



$37 million. That’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2020/05/22/naomi-osaka-is-the-highest-paid-female-athlete-ever-topping-serena-williams/?sh=64b43cdf1fd3">how much money</a>&nbsp;Osaka made from May 2019 to May 2020, according to&nbsp;Forbes, making her the highest-paid female athlete of all time.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h4>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/05/30/naomi-osaka-fined-15000-and-faces-suspension-over-boycotting-press-conferences/">Naomi Osaka Fined $15,000 And Faces Suspension Over Boycotting Press Conferences</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamzagoria/2021/05/30/naomi-osaka-fined-15000-for-french-open-media-boycott-repeat-violations-could-mean-default-from-the-tournament/">Naomi Osaka Fined $15,000 For French Open Media Boycott, Repeat Violations Could Mean ‘Default From The Tournament’</a> (Forbes)



By Jonathan Ponciano, Forbes Staff

gettyimages-1198783851-594×594

Naomi Osaka Withdraws From French Open After Media Boycott Fine

The 16-year-old dreams of lifting the French Open title in the future, but also hopes to inspire a generation of black players to take up tennis.



Khololwam Montsi, 16, a rising star of South African
tennis, recently broke into the list of top 20 junior tennis players in the
world after an excellent year that has seen him take part in tournaments in
Australia, Paraguay, Brazil, Italy, Belgium and Japan, as well as take the
South African circuit by storm. 



The young prodigy trains at the Anthony Harris Tennis
Academy in Cape Town, the same facility that developed Lloyd Harris into a top
100 player on the men’s senior ATP circuit.



Montsi was not actually all that interested in tennis
until his older brother, Sipho, took up the game.



“I
was focussed on karate and squash, those were my two main sports,” he tells
FORBES AFRICA. 



“But when I saw my brother playing tennis, I also wanted to join in. You know what it is like when you have an older brother, you want to follow him and impress him. 



“At that time, I was representing South Africa in karate, but I decided to drop the sport for tennis because I started to enjoy it more, was getting better and doing well in tournaments. It motivated me a lot. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“I come from a very sporty background, my father, Xolani, played rugby and soccer; my mother, Phumla, was a sprinter. When I was younger, I did everything – rugby, soccer, cricket, swimming, athletics, the lot. I just love to compete.” </blockquote>



Montsi has developed quickly and, despite his
relatively short frame, excelled with racquet in hand to emerge as arguably
South Africa’s leading young talent.



“For
me, since I am usually always playing against guys bigger than me, my game is
not all about power,” he says. “My strength comes from my mind, I feel like I’m
smarter than everybody else on court. I can pull off any shot. 



“I
read the game really well for someone of this age. I play two shots ahead of my
opponents and can hit the ball into areas where I know where they will return
it to me. That gives me an advantage to be ready. It is the big strength in my
game.



“I
would love to win the French Open, I’m a big fan of clay courts, you get more
time to play. It is better for me at my height.”



And as for his personal role model?



READ MORE: <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/lists/2019/08/28/the-highest-paid-tennis-players-2019-roger-federer-scores-a-record-93-million/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="The Highest-Paid Tennis Players 2019: Roger Federer Scores A Record $93 Million (opens in a new tab)">The Highest-Paid Tennis Players 2019: Roger Federer Scores A Record $93 Million</a>



“I
would take a few players and combine that. I love Rafa Nadal, he never gives
up. I love [Novak] Djokovic, the way he moves across court and is super flexible.
Then someone like [Gael] Monfils for the way he can pull off amazing shots.”



South
Africa has lacked a black player on the singles circuit and Montsi is hopeful
he will break the mould, saying he takes great satisfaction from being a
pioneer. 



“I
want to lift up tennis as a black boy. We do not see tennis as a big sport in
South Africa, barely any black kids play. I don’t want to put pressure on
myself, but I do feel a responsibility to help black tennis players get
opportunities.



“I play for myself, my family, my coaches and for black people. I would like to help grow the game in South Africa for them. It would be cool if I could help get more people to start playing tennis.”



The
obvious question is how he juggles traveling the world and his school work, but
Montsi has found a solution. 



“I
do online home-schooling, which means I can do all my work at tournaments,
anywhere in the world as long as I have my laptop. It is tough to balance the
two, it takes a lot of discipline. 



“I do sometimes think, ‘I’m tired today, I won’t do it’ and I was behind for quite a while, but with the home-schooling system, it is perfect, I have caught up quickly.”



Montsi
is preparing for the Australian Junior Open in January, the start of a busy
year that will hopefully also see him take part in the senior ATP Tour at some
stage.



“To be the first black African to win a Junior Grand Slam would be amazing for me,” he says, adding his future success may depend on funding. “To become a successful tennis player, you need financial support to get to tournaments. I am being helped a lot, but things can change quickly. I do see myself playing on the pro-circuit, that is my dream. I feel like I can keep my tennis up, but if the finances aren’t there.”



By Nick Said

Kholo_Montsi4

Playing Two Shots Ahead

Kevin Anderson had the biggest match of his career in the recent Wimbledon final, becoming the first male player to feature in the decider under the South African flag since 1921. 
With over $13 million in career prize-money, he speaks to FORBES AFRICA about new goals.

South African Kevin Anderson’s run to the 2018 Wimbledon final cemented his reputation as one of the leading players in the game today as he produced a shot that reverberated around the world of tennis.
Deep into his remarkable five-set semi-final with American John Isner, Anderson conjured a moment that will be remembered at Wimbledon for years to come and embodied all you need to know about the lanky star as a person and a player.
The weary 32-year-old was knocked off his feet by a power serve from Isner, his racquet falling from his hand as he fell onto his backside.
But as the ball came back to him, he instinctively reached down and grabbed the racquet with his weaker left hand, produced an excellent forehand and won the point – a moment that appeared to knock the last bit of fight out of his opponent as Anderson claimed the fifth set 26-24 in the second longest singles match in tennis history.
Anderson had shown calmness under pressure, the ability to adapt when the moment seemed lost and the skill to make the shot with his weak hand.
<blockquote>&#8220;Tennis can take you places you might never have dreamed of. I am the living proof of that.&#8221;</blockquote>
It was all the culmination of hard work put in years earlier to get him to that point and would earn him the biggest match of his career in the Wimbledon final, the first male player to feature in the decider under the South African flag since 1921.
“My Mom and dad both played tennis and ever since I can remember, I had a racquet in my hand,” Anderson tells FORBES AFRICA days after his final loss to Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic.
“I used to play swing-ball with my brother Greg for hours and hours.”
Anderson and his brother were coached in their early years by their father Mark, who always demanded his sons gave their all on the court.
“He would push us pretty hard to keep on working and improving, but at the same time, I really embraced it. I can’t ever remember wishing that I was doing anything else than playing tennis. I loved the game as an eight-year-old and still do.
“There is just something about the game that appeals to me and I have always been a hard-worker, that aspect comes quite naturally. From a young age, you find out that the more time you spend practicing, the better you become.
“By the time I was 10, tennis was my main sport and I was already fully-focused on the game, training probably three hours every day and traveling all over South Africa to play in junior tournaments.”
Fast forward 22-odd years and that hard work would pay off in a big way for Anderson against Isner.
“I had elbow surgery at a pretty young age and instead of resting for three or four months, my father made me play left-handed. It was tough, but I would never have thought then all of that practice would help me into a Wimbledon final.”
Anderson admired former American great Pete Sampras growing up, although he admits they are nothing alike.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2018/01/16/top-sport-stars-2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Top Sport Stars In 2018</a>
“He was my role model, our games are totally different but I could admire even then his commitment to excellence.”
After completing his schooling at St Stithians College in Johannesburg, whose other notable alumni include Academy Award-winning director Gavin Hood, singer Dave Matthews and current South Africa cricketer Kagiso Rabada, Anderson won a scholarship to the University of Illinois in the United States.
“I knew I wanted to have a pro-tennis career and so it made sense early on to base myself in the United States, because it was so much cheaper to travel to tournaments than from South Africa.
“I also thought I could develop quicker in the college system as you have exposure to better players than you would face back home,” Anderson says, adding he was a regular competitor with Isner while the pair were in college.
It was also at college that he met his wife, Kelsey O&#8217;Neal, who he married in 2011. The couple share a home in Delray Beach, Florida.
He now has over $13 million in career prize-money and a career-best top-five ranking, but above all says he also has a burning desire to be an inspiration to others.
“Tennis is an individual sport, so sometimes it is tough to find that connection [with young people]. But I feel like one of the big impacts I can make in South Africa is as an inspiration to show what is possible. With hard work, dedication and drive, tennis can take you places you might never have dreamed of. I am the living proof of that.”
Anderson will now hope to go one better than his loss in the final of the US Open in 2017, also to Djokovic, when he plays the final Grand Slam of the season in August and September, and his Wimbledon adventure has given him the confidence to believe he can do so.
“That is two Grand Slam finals in a year now and although I did not win either, it feels like it is really close,” he says.
“I know I can do it and it is now about setting new goals and challenges for myself.
“I want to keep on playing for as long as I can. I feel like I can still improve a lot as a player and that is my goal for the immediate future. I am as hungry as I’ve ever been.”
&#8211; Nick Said

Tag: French Open

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Naomi Osaka Withdraws From French Open After Media Boycott Fine

Playing Two Shots Ahead

Chasing The Grand Slam With Kevin Anderson