Naomi Osaka has critiqued the way athletes are brought up and encouraged to make important sacrificies for success in their field.
This comes as just last year the American was fined $15,000 for abstaining from post-match interviews at the French Open. Following that, she withdrew from the tournament.
This was in the name of her mental health which she said she needed to prioritise. The American also took time away from the sport in order to focus on her mental wellbeing.
One could certainly call Osaka a trailblazer in a sense, bringing much more attention to the human side of sports. Very often people are fed the narrative that athletes are machines whose only focus is winning.
When speaking to 'Dazed' magazine, Osaka made sure to reinforce the reality that this is simply not the case, and that sportsmen and women need to be treated as more normal human beings:
"I think as high-level athletes, we are accustomed to being trained to win at all costs, but actually there are more important things in life, and it doesn't define who we are as people. It's a big change, but also quite subtle at the same time."
Reflecting back on her ground-breaking decision to withdraw from Roland Garros, Osaka believes it was this moment that she fully realised that she had the power to potentially influence a positive change:
"Looking back, I think that was definitely the first time I realized that I had a voice, and it could be used in a positive way. I just went with my instincts."
Osaka added that she's unfazed by the criticism she often receives for using her platform for issues outside of sports:
"It's archaic and ignorant, but it doesn't bother me too much now. To be upset at an athlete expressing an opinion is bizarre to me."
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