Gilles Moretton, the new French Tennis Federation president, and others repeatedly tried to speak with her without success. When she did indeed skip the news conference after her first-round victory on Sunday over Patricia Maria Tig, the French Open fined her $15,000 and the Grand Slam tournament chiefs made it clear that she risked being defaulted from the tournament and future Grand Slam tournaments if she continued to decline to fulfill her media duties. It was a hard line: too hard in light of what Osaka explained on Monday night. “I just feel that Grand Slam statement poured fuel on the flames in a way that was irreversible. There are perhaps better ways for professional journalists to find out more about tennis players and their matches.

Source: New York Times May 31, 2021 23:48 UTC