Naomi Osaka created quite a commotion in the tennis world after refusing to take part in post-match press conference and
Belinda Bencic voiced her thoughts on it.
Many players in the past days were asked about the decision of Naomi Osaka to skip post-match press conferences at
Roland Garros. The Japanese player announced earlier that she would be skipping press conferences because of mental health concerns. A notoriously shy interview Osaka has struggled with the media part of her tennis profession in the past.
The decision received backlash most notably from France Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton who called it a 'phenomenal error'. Other players voiced their opinions on the matter as well with most of them respecting the decision but acknowledging the responsibility as professional to do the press.
Belinda Bencic was also asked about the matter and her response was:
"I respect Naomi's decision. But media is part of the job and it contributes to a worldwide publicity we have and we get paid very well. Naomi does a lot of good things. On the other hand, I feel like sometimes it's just about to remain in the talk"
It's a bit harsher words than from the majority of other professionals but the matter has become a polarizing one in the tennis world. As controversial as the topic is some players used the opportunity to joke about it. One such player is Nicole Melichar, world number 9 in doubles, who posted on her official Twitter page:
"I’d love to do press conferences. Can journalists and media start asking doubles players for more interviews? We’ve got our own stories to tell!"