"Response to Naomi Osaka opening up was much different" - Fans puzzled by contrasting treatment of Andrey Rublev and Japanese over mental health

Fans have suggested that the way Andrey Rublev's recent statements regarding his mental health have been received stands in stark contrast to how Naomi Osaka was treated after she decided to skip her 2021 French Open media obligations citing mental health concerns. According to fans, the majority of people have empathized with Rublev, which wasn't the case with Osaka three years ago.

Rublev's most recent outing came at the National Bank Open in Montreal, where the Russian finished as the runner-up to surprise champion Alexei Popyrin. Rublev was in scintillating form in the tournament, with his most impressive display coming in a quarterfinal win over World No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

After his 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 victory against the Italian, Rublev revealed during a press conference that he has been living with depression for several years. The Russian cited his mental health as one of the reasons behind his frequent on-court outbursts this year, which have come under scrutiny.

The World No. 6's candid statements drew the attention of tennis fans on social media, with many voicing their support for him. In Osaka's case, she was fined and many called her out at the time.

Osaka had decided not to attend press conferences at the 2021 French Open, stating she was doing so for mental health reasons. Osaka's stance stirred controversy at the time and eventually ended with her withdrawing from the clay court Major after the French Open slapped her with a hefty $15,000 fine.

Some fans compared Osaka's experience to Rublev's situation presently:

"I remember the public response to Naomi Osaka opening up being much different," a fan wrote.

"And she was far less destructive than Rublev. Also, the four Majors penned a joint statement threatening to ban her from future tournaments. She hasn't been the same since," commented another fan.

Meanwhile, some fans added an element of suggested racism to the discussion:

"When you don’t have complexion for the protection, everything is viewed differently," another fan chimed in.

"Naomi provided more insight also and we all remember the backlash she received about not being strong enough and being a sore loser…different color different treatment," wrote yet another fan.

"Never forget that - 4 Majors penned a joint statement threatening to ban her from future tournaments - other players threw her under the bus and are now reaping the benefits of a wider mental health awareness in the tour," another fan weighed in.

Another set of fans shared their opinion on Rublev's on-court behavior in light of his recent statements:

"Not to mention Rublev hasn't demonstrated any improvements in his on court behaviour[sic]. He was winning, so of course he's not going to do his usual rage campaign and harm himself, but he did just a few weeks ago," wrote a fan.

"Not going to fall for this for the 1000th time. The guy is always all the same. The next match he loses he'll be throwing fits of anger on the court all over again," another fan commented.

"Oh who gives af about his unstable ass?" another fan added.

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Naomi Osaka revisited her controversial 2021 French Open press conference saga in 2023

Naomi Osaka (Source: Getty)

In 2023, Osaka featured as a guest on the Mountaintop Conversations podcast, where she explained what led her to shun her media obligations at the 2021 French Open. According to the Japanese player, her fame resulted in a situation where she felt that certain journalists and reporters would try to "exploit" her. This, she said, started to make her feel more withdrawn.

"Slowly as I started becoming more known, there have been people that I feel their energy is to exploit. So I felt myself becoming more closed-off and I felt my character changing and I didn't really like that. So at this point when I was thinking 'I need to take a break, but I can't take a break from it because then I'll get fined'. But then I thought I'd rather take the fine than go through that with my energy," Osaka said.

The former WTA World No. 1's last on-court appearance came in the second qualifying round of the Cincinnati Open, where she lost to Ashlyn Krueger.