She has taken a leading role in protesting the deaths last year of George Floyd and other Black people who died at the hands of the police, wearing a mask with a different victim's name on each match day at the 2020 U.S. Open. She was named the 2020 AP Female Athlete of the Year.
According to Forbes, Osaka is the world's highest-paid woman athlete, earning $37 million in 2020 from blue-chip sponsors such as Tag Heuer, AirBnB, and Louis Vuitton in addition to Mastercard and Nike.
Nike has stood by sports stars after other controversies, including Tiger Woods after his 2009 sex scandal and former 49ers quarterback
https://apnews.com/article/colin-kaepernick-police-us-news-ap-top-news-football-6aaced14b24d4622aefeb44d3b17c2d6 after he knelt during games to protest police brutality against Black people. But it recently dropped
https://apnews.com/article/ligue-1-soccer-womens-soccer-business-sports-8bcaff0e3ca15d31503594ce1121cbc8 after he refused to cooperate with an internal investigation into sexual assault allegations from a Nike staffer.
Osaka's disclosure comes as celebrities and other public figures openly address their own issues with depression and anxiety. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle shared their experiences in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey and have since teamed with her
https://apnews.com/article/prince-harry-europe-health-mental-health-entertainment-2336809ddd4d0d1269224d3fd1a69a1b called "The Me You Can't See," in which Prince Harry talks about working through anxiety and grief.
Osaka also joins a growing list of top-tier
https://apnews.com/article/naomi-osaka-sports-mental-health-83c847601ea2a988f3c097511209ad30 Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, NBA players Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan, and the WNBA's A'ja Wilson have all spoken very publicly about their bouts with depression, sharing both the successes and setbacks.
The four Grand Slam tournaments reacted to Osaka's withdrawal by
https://apnews.com/article/naomi-osaka-europe-osaka-health-tennis-7b5cbbc5a455cbc83646409539baa25d The episode also could serve as a tipping point for the professional tennis tours — and leagues in other sports — to safeguard athletes' mental, and not just physical, health, said Windy Dees, professor of sport administration at the University of Miami.
"It's absolutely a growth opportunity for the (Women's Tennis Association) and all leagues, there's a lot of work to be done," Dees said.
Marketing consultant Adamson believes Osaka's decision to come forward will encourage many more athletes to divulge their own mental health battles. He noted that if Osaka had revealed her bouts with depression 10 years ago, her corporate sponsors likely would have stayed on the sidelines because the issue had been taboo. But, he noted, the pandemic has raised awareness around mental illness.
From August 2020 to February, the percentage of adults with recent symptoms of an anxiety or a depressive disorder increased from 36.4% to 41.5%, according to a survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Census Bureau.
The survey also found the percentage of those reporting they didn't get the help they needed increased from 9.2% to 11.7%. Increases were largest among adults aged 18-29 years and those with less than a high school education.
