The app committed to supporting other players who may find themselves in the same position as Naomi Osaka and will also make a donation that matches the penalty amount
Popular meditation and sleep app Calm officially pledged to pay the fines for any tennis player who chooses to skip media appearances to protect their mental health. This is in addition to donating US$15,000 to a French youth sports charity, Laureus, in an effort to prioritise the mental health needs of athletes.
This move by Calm comes days after one of the world's best tennis players, Naomi Osaka, made the bold decision to skip a press conference and withdraw from the French Open as a result of her desire to put her mental health first.
Related: Naomi Osaka Withdraws From French Open Citing Mental Health Reasons
The tennis star was fined US$15,000 for choosing not to meet the press after she won a match against Romanian player Patrica Maria Tig in the first round. While Tig did courtside post-match interviews, Osaka refused to attend the post-match news conference.
She was warned that she could be thrown out of the French Open if she continued to skip these press meets. Osaka then decided to withdraw from the tournament and posted a statement on Twitter about her decision to prioritise mental health.
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— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 31, 2021
"I think 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," she said in her statement.
She continued by saying: "The truth is I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that. Though the tennis press has always been kind to me (and I want to apologise to all the cool journalists who I may have hurt), I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world's media. I get really nervous and find it stressful to always try to engage and give you the best answers I can."
Her statement attracted worldwide praise, with many questioning why it was so necessary for an athlete to engage with the media. Her move also caught the attention of Calm, which then made the powerful decision to stand by the tennis player.
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