Lewis Hamilton says Naomi Osaka's French Open withdrawal was 'inevitable' as young athletes are under so much media pressure

• Lewis Hamilton showed support for Naomi Osaka, saying she had "so much weight on her shoulders."
• Osaka dropped out of the French Open after opening up about her mental health.
• Hamilton said such an incident was "inevitable" because of the pressure young athletes face.

Lewis Hamilton slammed the backlash Naomi Osaka has faced for dropping out of the French Open, adding that what happened to her was "inevitable" because she was under so much media pressure.

"Naomi is an incredible athlete and human being and her activism has been so impactful," Hamilton said ahead of this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, The Guardian reported.

"But when you are at such a young age with so much weight on her shoulders, it is inevitable what happened.

"She was incredibly brave and it is now about asking questions of those in power, making them think about how they react because the way they reacted with the fine was not good."

Hamilton continued by suggesting that in the furor of her withdrawal people had forgotten she was human.

"With Naomi's scenario, she didn't feel comfortable because of her own personal mental health, the backlash against her was ridiculous," he said.

"People were not taking into account that she is a human being. She was saying: 'I am not well enough to do this right now.'"

Osaka announced on Monday that she was withdrawing from Roland-Garros, saying she "never wanted to be a distraction" from the tournament.

She had announced last week that she would not take part in press conferences during the tournament, citing her mental health. The tournament then fined her $15,000 for not speaking with the media after she won her first-round match, and it threatened to expel her from the tournament.

In her announcement dropping out of the event, she said she had experienced bouts of depression since winning the 2018 US Open and said she got "huge waves of anxiety" before speaking with the media.

Speaking ahead of the Grand Prix, Hamilton was also critical of the fine Osaka received.

"Someone talking about their personal mental health and then being fined for it was not cool," he said.

"They could definitely have handled it better. I hope they take a deep dive into that and find a better way to navigate it in future.

"As athletes, we are pushing ourselves to the limit, we are on the edge and we are only human beings."

Hamilton is one of dozens of athletes and celebrities to have spoken out about Osaka's withdrawal from the French Open.

On Wednesday, the seven-time Grand Slam tournament winner John McEnroe said he believed Osaka might follow in the footsteps of his great rival, Bjorn Borg, in retiring from the sport early because of burnout.

Serena Williams, probably Osaka's biggest rival in tennis, said she wished she could give the young star a "hug" after her withdrawal.

"I feel like I wish I could give her a hug because I know what it's like," Williams said.

The legendary Olympian Michael Phelps also gave his support to Osaka, saying her speaking out about her problems could be a "breakthrough for the mental-health world."

"This is something that really could help a lot of people," Phelps said.