Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Rafael Nadal were also part of the panel alongside Osaka and Kyrgios on Thursday.
Speaking to panel hosts Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer, Nick Kyrgios revealed that he has been plagued by mental health issues since the early stages of his tennis career.
The Aussie highlighted how interacting with and doing a podcast with Naomi Osaka helped both of them overcome their demons.
Stressing how men struggle to open up about their mental struggles, Kyrgios credited Osaka for helping him avoid that path.
“Wow, there’s another tennis player as great as the champion Naomi Osaka is, that was also going through that” - Nick Kyrgios on the Japanese’s decision to withdraw from the 2021 French Open
During the interaction, Nick Kyrgios explained that Naomi Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the 2021 French Open due to her mental health troubles filled him with a lot of courage and inspiration.
The four-time Major champion initially announced she would skip obligatory media duties at Roland Garros due to mental health issues. But Osaka withdrew from the tournament altogether once the tournament slapped her with a fine and threatened dire consequences.
In response to Kyrgios, Osaka admitted that opening up about her issues was “really difficult.” However, the Japanese is glad she did, seeing how it helped other people with similar issues.
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