
Osaka opens up on her fears
Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 19.08.21. | 13:31
I think definitely this whole COVID thing was really stressful with the bubbles and not seeing people, not having interactions
Naomi Osaka, the Japanese tennis star, said she would rather be her than "anyone else in the world" as she outlined her changing perspective on press conferences after a superb comeback win against American teenager Coco Gauff at Cincinnati.
The 23-year-old appeared ready to reassess her relationship with the media as she drew a comparison between her status as an exalted athlete and those affected by the deadly 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti and political crisis in Afghanistan.
The Japanese was left in tears earlier in the week by a question from Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty when she faced the media for the first time since withdrawing from this year's French Open for mental health reasons.
"I guess seeing the state of the world, how everything is in Haiti, how everything is in Afghanistan right now, is definitely really crazy, and for me to just be hitting a tennis ball in the United States and have people come and watch me play is, I don't know, I would want to be myself in this situation rather than anyone else in the world."
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
''I'm wondering if I was scared because sometimes I would see headlines of players losing and then the headline the next day would be like a collapse or they're not that great anymore. So then I was thinking me waking up every day, for me, I should feel like I'm winning.
"I think definitely this whole COVID thing was really stressful with the bubbles and not seeing people, not having interactions,'' concluded Osaka.











