Nike stands by ‘courageous’ Osaka

TIL Desk Sports/ Tennis star Naomi Osaka has found support from Nike (NKE) and other major sponsors after deciding to withdraw from the ongoing French Open.

The sports apparel giant — who signed a sponsorship deal with Osaka in 2019 — applauded the athlete in a statement on Monday for opening up about her struggle with depression.

“Our thoughts are with Naomi. We support her and recognise her courage in sharing her own mental health experience,” Nike said.

 The four-times Grand Slam champion had last week signalled her intentions to skip her media duties to protect her mental well-being and she returned to Twitter on Monday to announce her withdrawal.

Osaka had pulled out of the French Open citing mental health and revealed that she suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018.