CNN
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Naomi Osaka, making ready to compete in her first tennis event because the Tokyo Olympics, briefly took a break throughout a pre-tournament information conference on Monday after she began crying.
The Western & Southern Open information conference in Mason, Ohio, started with Osaka answering questions concerning psychological well being and doing press conferences – topics she sparked a widespread conversation about earlier this yr when she withdrew from the French Open as a result of she didn’t need to take part in information conferences, citing her mental health.
Following these questions, Osaka was in the midst of being requested about preparation for the summer time arduous courtroom portion of the season and her response to what’s going on in Haiti following a devastating earthquake. Osaka’s father is a Haiti native, and the tennis famous person mentioned in a tweet Saturday she would give prize money she earns on the Western & Southern Open to Haiti reduction efforts.
It was throughout that portion of the session that Osaka started to wipe her face and pulled her hat down over her eyes. A reporter mentioned, “Sorry,” as Osaka obtained emotional, to which Osaka replied, “No, you’re super good.”
With Osaka crying, the moderator mentioned they’d take a fast break. After a couple of minutes, Osaka returned to complete the session. She apologized for strolling out.
Before this unfolded, Osaka obtained into an exchange with a reporter from the Cincinnati Enquirer who mentioned, “You’re not crazy about dealing with us, especially in this format. Yet you have a lot of outside interests that are served by having a media platform.”
Osaka’s agent later referred to as the reporter a “bully.”
Prior to the Olympics, Osaka’s final time competing was on the French Open in May. Before the beginning of that event, the four-time main champion and world No. 2 mentioned she wouldn’t be doing press conferences – realizing she would get fined – citing her psychological well being.
After a press release from all 4 main tournaments – the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open – that threatened additional punishment, together with default from the event, Osaka withdrew, revealing she had “suffered long bouts of depression” since successful her first main title in 2018.
After answering back-to-back questions concerning information conferences, that is the exchange that occurred between columnist Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer and Osaka:
Daugherty: “You’re not crazy about dealing with us, especially in this format. Yet you have a lot of outside interests that are served by having a media platform. I guess my question is how do you balance the two? And also do you have anything you’d like to share with us about what you did say to Simone Biles?” (Earlier in the press conference, Osaka mentioned she had despatched a message to Biles however mentioned she needed to offer her area, “because I know how overwhelming it can feel.”)
Osaka: “When you say I’m not crazy about dealing with you guys, what does that refer to?”
Daugherty: “Well, you’ve said you don’t especially like the press conference format, yet that seems to be obviously the most widely used means of communication to the media and through the media to the public.”
Osaka: “That’s interesting. I would say the occasion, like when to do the press conferences what I feel is the most difficult.”
Osaka then paused, saying she was considering. The moderator advised shifting on and requested Osaka if she needed to take the following query.
Osaka: “No. I’m very actually interested in that point of view. So if you could repeat that, that would be awesome.”
Daugherty: “The question was that you’re not especially fond of dealing with the media, especially in this format. You have suggested there are better ways to do it, that we’d like to try to explore that. My question, I guess, was you also have outside interests beyond tennis that are served by having the platform that the media presents to you. My question is how do you think you might be able to best balance the two?”
Osaka: “I really feel like that is one thing that I can’t actually communicate for everyone. I can solely communicate for myself, however ever since I used to be youthful I’ve had a number of media curiosity on me, and I feel it’s due to my background in addition to how I play. Because in the primary place I’m a tennis participant. That’s why lots of people have an interest in me.
“I might say in that regard I’m fairly completely different to lots of people. I can’t actually assist that there are some issues that I tweet or some issues that I say that type of create a number of information articles or issues like that. I do know it’s as a result of I’ve received a pair grand slams and I’ve gotten to do a number of press conferences the place these items occur.
“But I would also say I’m not really sure how to balance the two. I’m figuring it out at the same time as you are I would say.”
After that, whereas Osaka was receiving the following set of questions from a tennis journalist concerning preparation and Haiti did Osaka present seen emotion.
Osaka’s agent, Stuart Duguid, mentioned in a press release: “The bully at the Cincinnati Enquirer is the epitome of why player / media relations are so fraught right now. Everyone on that Zoom will agree that his tone was all wrong and his sole purpose was to intimidate. Really appalling behavior. And this insinuation that Naomi owes her off court success to the media is a myth – don’t be so self-indulgent.”
CNN has reached out to Daugherty for remark.
Before the exchange with Daugherty, a reporter requested Osaka if there was any recommendation she may give reporters on how they may help make it a greater expertise for athletes going by way of tough losses and moments whereas asking questions throughout press conferences.
“For me, I feel like most of the time – this is just me as a person – I’m pretty open when it comes to press conferences,” Osaka mentioned. “I really feel like I’ve been that method my entire life. There are instances the place I might say there’s those who I don’t know that effectively that ask me actually, actually delicate questions. And then particularly after a loss, that type of amplifies a bit.
“I would say like even repetitive questions, like questions we’ve been asked before, but maybe you guys weren’t there at the previous press conference. Just like maybe read transcripts. I’m not a professional in press conferences or anything, but, just to make it a bit more of a friendlier experience, I would say.”
She additionally gave the suggestion of a participant taking a “sick day.”
“We get fined if we don’t do press conferences but sometimes we feel really sad,” Osaka mentioned. “I feel like maybe there should be a rule that we could maybe take a sick day from that and maybe respond to you guys in emails and things like that. I feel like it would be kind of fair but then again I’m only speaking from my side and I don’t know how your guys’ whole (referencing the media) – I guess maybe you want to capture us when we’re straight off the court as well, so I’m not sure what’s fair.”
Regarding Haiti, Osaka mentioned, “It’s really scary. I see the news every day. Honestly, the earthquake was kind of close to my parents’ school there. I’m honestly not really sure how that’s doing, and I haven’t seen any pictures or video of it yet.”
At the 2020 Western & Southern Open – held on the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York as a substitute of the Cincinnati space – Osaka was the runner-up after withdrawing due to a hamstring harm. She would go on to win the US Open.