Naomi Osaka says she felt 'ashamed' for taking a break from tennis to manage her mental health

• Naomi Osaka says she felt "ashamed" for taking a break from tennis to manage her mental health.
• The 25-year-old stepped away from the court for several months following the 2021 French Open. 
• "As an athlete, you're kind of told to be strong and push through everything," she said. 

Naomi Osaka has opened up on how she felt "ashamed' for taking a break from tennis to manage her mental health. 

The four-time Grand Slam winner took a highly publicized break from the game after withdrawing from the French Open in May 2021, citing concerns with her mental health.

At the time, she said she had been suffering "long bouts of depression" and anxiety since 2018.

"I felt like [the break] was necessary, but I kind of felt ashamed in that moment because as an athlete, you're kind of told to be strong and push through everything, but I think I learned that it's better to re-group and adjust the feelings you have in that moment and you can come back stronger," Osaka said while appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday.

"I wouldn't have wanted it any other way [taking the break] because I learned a lot during that time."

She added: "I think for me, I've just always been taught to kind of like stick it out or work through it, and I think that's a very valuable lesson because it has gotten me through a lot of things in life.

"But there was just a point where I thought to myself like, 'Why?' you know. And not in a negative way, but if I am feeling this way, why would I keep pushing through it when I can confront it and fix it and then continue on my journey?"

Osaka, 25, returned to the court at the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021, and she told Colbert that the support she received from her fellow professionals at the time was incredible. 

"I was kind of huddled up in my house for a while after that whole thing happened [at Roland Garros]," she said.

"Then I went to the Olympics [in Tokyo], and there were so many athletes that came up to me, and I was so surprised, and I was so honored because these are people that I watch on TV, and I like, I felt really grateful and felt really supported."