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Naomi Osaka pens powerful essay on mental health

Written by on July 13, 2021

By KTSU2News Service

Naomi Osaka penned a powerful essay for Time magazine on the importance of her own mental health after she withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon.

Osaka, who is the world’s top paid female tennis player, said that she has suffered with depression for years and was uncomfortable sharing her personal battles with anyone.

“ In my case, I felt under a great amount of pressure to disclose my symptoms—frankly because the press and the tournament did not believe me. I do not wish that on anyone and hope that we can enact measures to protect athletes, especially the fragile ones. I also do not want to have to engage in a scrutiny of my personal medical history ever again. So I ask the press for some level of privacy and empathy next time we meet,” she wrote in the essay.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama, Michael Phelps, Steph Curry,  and every day people have come to her defense.

Phelps told her that speaking up may have saved a life, she wrote.