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The four Grand Slams have given their support to Naomi Osaka and plan to "advance mental health and wellbeing" for players.

The Grand Slam tournaments are the four biggest tennis competitions; the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.

Naomi Osaka pulled out of the French Open on Monday over her refusal to speak to the media at the tournament to "protect her mental health".

The four Grand Slams have said: "We commend Naomi for sharing in her own words the pressures and anxieties she is feeling."

They added: "We empathise with the unique pressures tennis players may face."

What's happened?

Last week Naomi Osaka said she didn't want to do interviews to "protect her mental health".

After her match on Sunday she did not do any post-match media and was fined $15,000 (£10,570).

The Grand Slams then issued a statement saying that Osaka could face expulsion from the tournament if she continued to avoid interviews.

On Monday, the Japanese world number two Osaka, pulled out of the French Open and revealed she has been suffering with "bouts of depression" after winning her major title at the 2018 US Open.

Osaka added she was going to "take some time away from the court now".

The four major tournaments faced criticism for the way they handled the issue at the French Open.

The most recent statement from the Grand Slams is more supportive than their first one on Sunday which threatened possible "Grand Slam suspensions" if Osaka continued to avoid the media.

"Together as a community we will continue to improve the player experience at our tournaments, including as it relates to media.

We intend to work alongside the players, the tours, the media and the broader tennis community to create meaningful improvements."

Stars supporting Osaka

Tennis stars and other athletes have spoken out in support of Osaka's decision, although many said speaking to the media is "part of the job".

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams said speaking to the media was "definitely not easy to do for anymore".

Williams added: "For me personally, I know every single person asking me a question can't play as well as I can and never will, so no matter what you say or what you write, you'll never light a candle to me. That's how I deal with it. But each person deals with it differently."

Coco Gauff, the 17-year-old American world number 25, said: "Mental health is a dear subject to me and I feel for her, I hope as a tour that we can find ways to help her and help players going through situations like her."