Naomi Osaka's decision to boycott mandatory media interviews at the French Open has left tennis legend Billie Jean King "torn".
Osaka revealed in the build-up to the second grand slam of the year that she would not partake in media duties, stating that "people have no regard for athletes' mental health" during news conferences.
The WTA – organisers of the women's tour – encouraged the Japanese superstar to reach out for support with her mental well-being but stressed she had a "responsibility" to her sport to honour contractual commitments.
The 23-year-old conducted an on-court interview after beating Patricia Maria Tig on Sunday but did not appear at the allotted time for her post-match media conference and was hit with a $15,000 by tournament organisers, who threatened further sanctions, including a possible suspension.
King, a 12-time grand slam singles champion, took to Twitter to outline her stance on what is proving to be a contentious issue.
"I fully admire and respect what Naomi is doing with her platform, so I am a little torn as I try to learn from both sides of the situation," wrote King, a co-founder of the WTA.
"While it's important that everyone has the right to speak their truth, I have always believed that as professional athletes we have a responsibility to make ourselves available to the media.
"In our day, without the press, nobody would have known who we are or what we thought. There is no question they helped build and grow our sport to what it is today.
"I acknowledge things are very different now with social media and everyone having an immediate ability to speak their truth.
"The media still play an important role in telling our story. There is no question that the media needs to respect certain boundaries.
"But at the end of the day it is important that we respect each other and we are in this together."
Osaka plays Ana Bogdan in round two on Wednesday.
Medvedev moves into French Open third round after Kecmanovic retires injured
Daniil Medvedev advanced to the French Open third round after Miomir Kecmanovic was forced to retire injured in their round-two clash at Roland-Garros.
The former US Open champion prevailed in just 55 minutes at 6-1 5-0 ahead on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, when his opponent was unable to continue.
Medvedev has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of the clay-court major, reaching the last eight in 2021, but has plenty of energy still in reserve after his premature win.
A runner-up at the Australian Open and Indian Wells this season, the fifth seed was in dominant form throughout the contest, and will play either Mariano Navone or Tomas Machac in round three.
Data Debrief: Medvedev continues to make strides on clay
Medvedev has now won 36 career ATP matches on clay, with 50 per cent of those coming since the start of the 2023 season (18).
The fifth seed won 23 of his 27 points on first serve (85 per cent), while converting five of nine break points, and hitting 26 winners to just six unforced errors.
Sinner thrashes home favourite Gasquet to make French Open third round
Jannik Sinner cruised into the French Open third round after making light work of home favourite Richard Gasquet in a straight-sets victory on Wednesday.
The world number two overcame Christopher Eubanks in his first Roland-Garros meeting and had similar ease against French veteran Gasquet on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Having triumphed at the Australian Open in January, Sinner will be dreaming of a second major title after his convincing 6-4 6-2 6-4 success in the French capital.
Buoyed on with confidence from a straight-sets win against Eubanks on Monday, Sinner stole a decisive break at 3-3 in the first set to undo 37-year-old Gasquet.
Gasquet, a 16-time ATP Tour champion, struggled to respond after that opening blow, holding his service just twice in a one-sided second set.
Sinner continued to dictate play from deep on the court, pulling Gasquet apart at will to tee up a routine win in just two hours and 17 minutes.
Data Debrief: Sinner riding major wave
Fresh from his major-winning exploits in Australia, Sinner is a remarkable 9-0 in grand slam competition this year.
The 22-year-old extended to a 12-1 record against players ranked outside the top 10 at Roland-Garros, while he now has 26 wins and just one loss against Frenchmen since August 2020.
Swiatek blames wandering mind after ousting Osaka in French Open thriller
Iga Swiatek acknowledged her mind was not always in Wednesday's match as the world number one survived a French Open scare against Naomi Osaka.
The three-time Roland-Garros champion appeared set for an early exit on Court Philippe-Chatrier after trailing 4-1 in the deciding set.
Matters worsened for the Polish tennis star when Osaka mustered a 5-3 lead, but Japan's four-time major winner relinquished a match point with Swiatek on the ropes.
The defending French Open champion responded in blistering style, eventually triumphing 7-6 (7-1) 1-6 7-5 to reach the third round unscathed.
After a shock to the system and nearing an early exit, Swiatek said she struggled to focus at times in Paris.
"For sure I felt for most of the match that I wasn't really here and now," Swiatek said.
"My mind was flying around sometimes, but when I was really under the biggest pressure I was able to focus more and play better, not thinking about what the score is and that I was really close to losing.
"I just kept going forward and I hope that my game is going to get better because of that."
Aged 22 years and 363 days, Swiatek is the third-youngest women's player, after Monica Seles and Steffi Graf, to win 16 consecutive matches at the French Open during the Open Era.
Victory also marked her 30th win at Roland-Garros, as many as Seles before turning 23.
Only Graf (47), Sanchez Vicario (39), Gabriela Sabatini (34) and Martina Hingis (31) have registered more wins when under the age of 23 at this event during the Open Era.
"For sure this match was really intense," Swiatek added in her on-court interview.
"Much more intense for the second round than I ever expected. Naomi played amazing tennis, with a really loose hand – maybe she's gonna be a clay-court specialist in a while."
The Pole has also now won 69 of her 70 completed WTA main-draw matches on clay after winning the opening set.
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