Naomi Osaka announced she was withdrawing from the French Open on Monday after she was threatened with disqualification for boycotting media duties, while on court, Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek all reached the second round.
Japanese star Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, said before the tournament that she would not attend press conferences to protect her mental health, saying the traditional post-match inquests are like “kicking people when they’re down”.
She refused to speak to the media after her first-round victory on Sunday.
The organisers of the four major tournaments — the Australian, French and US Opens as well as Wimbledon — responded by fining the world number two $15,000 and threatening her with further sanctions, including defaulting her from Roland Garros.
But the 23-year-old said she has suffered from depression since winning her first Slam in the infamous US Open final three years ago against Serena Williams, and pulled out of the event.
On Court Philippe Chatrier, Federer kicked off only his second French Open campaign in six years with an impressive dismissal of Denis Istomin.
The 39-year-old Federer, level with Rafael Nadal on 20 Grand Slam singles titles, saw off Uzbek Istomin 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.
