'Your Strength Is Inspirational': How Naomi Osaka's Twitter Announcement Destigmatizes Mental Health Disclosures.

This article examines social media responses to Naomi Osaka’s May 31, 2021, Twitter announcement withdrawing from the French Open due to mental health struggles. Using unsupervised machine learning and thematic analysis on 11,800 English-language replies, the study found predominantly supportive and affirming reactions that validated Osaka’s experience, critiqued external pressures from tournament organizers and media, and contributed to destigmatizing mental health through increased visibility. However, a minority of negative comments dismissed her concerns, often emphasizing job-role expectations, with over 40% of these negative tweets identified as originating from bot-like automated accounts. The findings highlight the potential of elite athletes’ public disclosures on social media to reduce mental health stigma while also revealing challenges posed by automated accounts amplifying stigmatizing content.