Photo/Illutration Japan's Naomi Osaka returns a shot to Romania's Patricia Maria Tig during their first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris on May 30. (AP file photo)

When I heard the news of Naomi Osaka's refusal to attend a news conference, my honest thought was that she was being immature and unprofessional.

Surely, agreeing to be interviewed in public had to be one of her duties as a top tennis player.

But the next day, she revealed she had "suffered long bouts of depression."

Well, that changed things. If she was having mental health issues, she couldn't be blamed for that, could she?

But when I thought hard about my two conflicting reactions, I realized both were problematic.

If you are having a nervous breakdown, how tormenting it must be to feel that people are judging you as a spoiled brat who refuses to do what everybody else has to do.

Stopping to think about the issue just because of her illness will probably not facilitate a solution.

Osaka chose to withdraw from the French Open. I hope she will rest her body and soul for now, but I also wonder if she couldn't have thought of another choice.

It is clear from her tweet that while she wanted to give her all to tennis, she also wanted to reduce the burden of news conferences.

I wondered about any other burden she could have shed without the constriction of traditional rules. To do so is really important, not only in sports but in any profession, for anyone to perform to their full potential.

Professional shogi player Manabu Senzaki once withdrew from competition due to depression.

Describing that period in his book "Utsubyo 9-dan" (Depression 9-dan), he recalled being tormented by the feeling that he no longer had his place in the professional shogi community, and that he would not be able to return to that place.

When he was going through a particularly rough time, he took everything negatively. But his happiest moment was when his former colleagues told him, "We are all waiting for you to come back."

I will sit back and wait for Osaka's return to the court.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 2

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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