We had not seen Naomi Osaka at a press conference since May. The world number 2 was once again exercised in the context of the Cincinnati tournament but it was not easy for the Japanese.
While she had reconnected with the press during the Tokyo Olympics where she went to the mixed zone, the player this time returned to the press room a place that she boycotted from Roland-Garros to preserve her mental health and which had resulted in his forfeit of the Paris tournament.
Obviously, the last winner of the Australian Open was questioned about her position and the fact that she had a great media response but did not like talking to the media.
“A terrible behavior” of the journalist
Despite the moderator’s suggestion to move on, the 23-year-old insisted on responding stating: “There has been a lot of media interest around me and it’s as much because of my story as it is because of the way I play. But above all, I am a tennis player. There is nothing I can do about the fact that what I say or do generates news articles. “
Naomi Osaka bursts into tears and exits podium while addressing how she has felt since withdrawing from French Open. pic.twitter.com/xBn8XRF8FB
— The Shadow League (@ShadowLeague) August 16, 2021
But it was during the next question that Osaka burst into tears, when she was asked about the situation in Haiti and her choice of donate its prize money to the victims while the island is devastated after a violent earthquake.
It then took him several minutes to come to his senses and somehow wrap up the press conference.
READ ALSO. Olympics 2021. Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka… When the word of athletes is freed
After this sequence, her agent hinted in a statement that it was more the question about her choice to boycott the press that had disturbed the young woman: “The tyrant of the Cincinnati Enquirer (a local newspaper) is why relations between players and the media are so strained right now. Everyone will agree that his sole purpose was to intimidate, appalling behavior ”, he commented.
– .
