Most valuable woman athlete Naomi’s pullout may hurt Grand Slams

Paris, June 1 (IANS): Naomi Osaka, who pulled out of French Open tournament on Monday due to her mental health and was fined $15,000 for skipping media interaction on Sunday, is the world’s highest-earning female athlete. Her absence from any Grand Slam event may hurt the tournament itself due to heavy interest of sponsors in her.

Naomi pipped long-time top grosser Serena Williams to second place and moved into first place in the 2020 Forbes list for highest earning female athletes.

While Naomi’s achievements on court are very less compared to Serena’s — she has four Grand Slam titles against Serena’s 23 — she is the hot property for sponsors, having won multiple Grand Slam titles over the last four years. Serena last won a Grand Slam title back in 2017.

The Japanese world No. 2 earned a massive $37.4 million in 2020, just $2.6 million less than men’s tennis heavyweight Rafael Nadal ($40 million). The prize money share of her earnings comprised only $3.4million. The remaining $34 million came from endorsements.

According to a report in 2020 in the Forbes magazine, Naomi has 15 endorsement partners, including Nissan Motors, Shiseido and Yonex. Nike wrested her from Adidas, committing about $10 million annually.

The 39-year-old Serena, on the other hand, has earnings of $36 million which is $1.4 million lower than Naomi. As much as $32 million of the $36 million earned by Serena comprises endorsements.

The duo are the two highest paid women athletes and are way ahead of their nearest competitor Ashleigh Barty, whose earnings are $13.1 million. Among the top 10 earners among women athletes, nine are tennis players.

The interest shown by sponsors in Naomi is understandable.

Since Serena Williams won the last of her Grand Slam events back in 2017 at the Australian Open, 11 women have shared 15 Grand Slam tournaments. Only Romania’s Simona Halep and Naomi have won multiple Grand Slam titles with the Japanese winning it four times compared to two by Halep.

Naomi’s first Grand Slam title came at the 2018 US Open. She followed it up with Australian Open in 2019, US Open in 2020 and Australian Open earlier this year.

It came as no surprise then that French Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton wants to see Naomi back at the tournament next year even though he had earlier said that Naomi’s decision to not speak to media was a ‘phenomenal error’.

“We are sorry and sad for Naomi Osaka. The outcome of Naomi withdrawing from Roland Garros is unfortunate,” Moretton said in a short press conference after Naomi’s pullout.

“We wish her the best and the quickest possible recovery. We look forward to having Naomi in our tournament next year,” Moretton added.

Serena, Martina back Naomi’s decision to pull out of French Open

Naomi Osaka has received backing from Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams after the Japanese tennis star pulled out of French Open on Monday.

Naomi’s decision to not speak to media due to mental health did not find acceptance with organisers of Grand Slam tournaments. She was fined $15,000 for skipping media interaction after her first round win and was also warned of suspension from future Grand Slam events.

“I am so sad about Naomi Osaka. I truly hope she will be ok. As athletes we are taught to take care of our body, and perhaps the mental & emotional aspect gets short shrift,” tweeted Martina, who added that Naomi’s decision was not just about press conferences.

“This is about more than doing or not doing a press conference. Good luck Naomi — we are all pulling for you!,” added the 18-time winner of Grand Slam singles titles.

Serena said she feels for Naomi and wanted to hug her but added that such moments has made her stronger.

“I feel for Naomi. I feel like I wish I could give her a hug because I know what it is like,” said Serena after her 7-6 (8/6), 6-2 win in first round over Irina-Camelia Begu at Roland Garros.

“We have different personalities, and people are different. Not everyone is the same. I am thick. Other people are thin,” said the 39-year-old.

“Everyone is different and everyone handles things differently. You just have to let her handle it the way she wants to,” said Serena, who has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles. “I have been where I have been very difficult to walk in (to press conferences) in those moments. But, you know, it made me stronger.”