Naomi Osaka

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it’s easy to place this all on the tennis authorities as they do hold some responsibility here to protect the players. The reality is they’re probably just like most others in the world - looking at the money.

let’s look at this a little differently though. Maybe Osaka shouldn’t have entered at all if she were in the depths of depression and had no intention whatsoever to follow the rules that’ve been clear forever and all the other players follow.

what if Osaka weren’t a top player, like most tennis players in the world, and couldn’t afford the fines that come with not following the rules every time they play? Why should Osaka be allowed to peace out after she wins while all the other players in the tournament have to sit in press conferences? Seems unfair to me.

I respect Osaka’s decision to do whatever she wants with her life. And if all the tennis players come together to push for rule changes, then great. However I personally don’t have a lot of respect for someone, whatever their struggles, who made a monumental announcement on Instagram (which they knew would generate publicity and media coverage....) days before a major tournament.

if she’s struggling mentally - go get help. Don’t play. Her mental health takes priority. But we are talking about extremely wealthy people who generally speaking get coddled by both the media and the public for access. Don’t wanna play the game that everyone else has to play to get paid? Great. Take your F U money and go live your life.
 
I don't even understand why this is an issue. The majority of sports athletes hate the media and would be happy to just play/collect millions then go home an hour early. The best players are expected to do news conferences and stay back thus they get paid much more than a bench warmer who just showers then head out.

Osaka Knows that media is expected. She is smart enough to realize availability is what promotes the sport = more revenue = more money. This has been hashed out in pro sports all the time when athletes are fined for not showing up for news conferences. You think it is easy for a basketball star to lose b/c they missed the last shot, go to a news conference where you will be asked why you failed again and costs your team?

I am not blaming Osaka but she is smart enough to understand their are repercussions for not doing part of her job. Slippery slope to allow her to not be penalized b/c then everyone would skip media.

I would also want to bring up this fact. If she is so anxious about talking to the media then per Forbes it doesn't seem she was too shy being in front of the Camera when she was collecting $34M. Now suddenly she doesn't want to be in front of the camera? Ill be waiting for her to renounce all of her endorsements if she really is fearful of the media.

Last year saw Osaka overtake Serena Williams as the world's highest-paid female athlete, according to Forbes, which estimates that the world number three earned around US$34 million in 2020 from her endorsement deals with the likes of Nike, Beats by Dre, Mastercard and Nissin, among others
 
I love Osaka but I'm still confused about how I feel about this! She brings to light a lot of great points including mental health but I can't imagine being at her level of professional!
 
In sports, everyone needs to play on the same level field. If you let her not do media throughout the two wks, then she will have an enormous advantage. That is alot of extra rest time she has over all of the other players.
 
emergentmd said:
In sports, everyone needs to play on the same level field. If you let her not do media throughout the two wks, then she will have an enormous advantage. That is alot of extra rest time she has over all of the other players.
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I can definitely see that point! It has to be the same rules for all. We've all seen our favorite players sob or break down with really rude questions by the media. Serena Williams def has had her share of attacks.
Honestly in terrible irony Kvitova is out of the French because she fell during her press duties
 
dhb said:
When you think about it, the tennis part where you hit a ball for millions of dollars is as silly as press conferences.
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Supply and demand isn't silly, but this comment is.

Don't ever let your feelings get hurt by the market paying someone else what the market demands. It's not personal.

Besides, millions and millions of people derive happiness and joy from watching her play. In the grand universal scheme of who "deserves" what, she "deserves" that money more than a lot of other people "deserve" what they're paid.
 
I do wonder if there's some room for her to demand reasonable accommodation for a medical disability (a diagnosed anxiety disorder?), and how EU vs USA vs other nations' laws differ on that angle.

Anyway, I bet the tennis powers-powers-that-be recognize there's going to be a lot of bad PR coming their way if they try to play hardball with her now, so I'd expect them to make some concessions. And maybe we'll see all of the tennis players wear a chartreuse ribbon or other bit of mental health awareness flair soon ...
 
GassYous said:
They need her more than she needs them.
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I disagree. If she retired today, in a few weeks we'll have forgotten her.

Ultimately it comes down to her contract. If she is contractually obligated to do media time, then that is her agreed upon duties and responsibilities. I absolutely respect her right to fight against the system and to then get a waiver, at the expense of some salary.

Let's bring this into our world. Do I have the right to stop doing attestations and filling out Pre-Ops in EPIC because I feel burnout and depression from PTSD? I have the right to do so, but my bosses have the right to terminate me because that then affects their billing and collections. I then can take my FU money and retire, as can Osaka ... but on a much smaller boat.
 
Zekchar said:
I disagree. If she retired today, in a few weeks we'll have forgotten her.

Ultimately it comes down to her contract. If she is contractually obligated to do media time, then that is her agreed upon duties and responsibilities. I absolutely respect her right to fight against the system and to then get a waiver, at the expense of some salary.

Let's bring this into our world. Do I have the right to stop doing attestations and filling out Pre-Ops in EPIC because I feel burnout and depression from PTSD? I have the right to do so, but my bosses have the right to terminate me because that then affects their billing and collections. I then can take my FU money and retire, as can Osaka ... but on a much smaller boat.
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You have bigger boat than Osaka? Can I come visit your big boat?
 
I really hope the tennis organizations don't bow to the snowflakes and give in. The media and coverage is what helps create the market for her and other players to make their money. Especially a sport like tennis and golf, which is entirely star driven need the stars to be out there and promote the sport.
 
emergentmd said:
I don't even understand why this is an issue. The majority of sports athletes hate the media and would be happy to just play/collect millions then go home an hour early. The best players are expected to do news conferences and stay back thus they get paid much more than a bench warmer who just showers then head out.

Osaka Knows that media is expected. She is smart enough to realize availability is what promotes the sport = more revenue = more money. This has been hashed out in pro sports all the time when athletes are fined for not showing up for news conferences. You think it is easy for a basketball star to lose b/c they missed the last shot, go to a news conference where you will be asked why you failed again and costs your team?

I am not blaming Osaka but she is smart enough to understand their are repercussions for not doing part of her job. Slippery slope to allow her to not be penalized b/c then everyone would skip media.

I would also want to bring up this fact. If she is so anxious about talking to the media then per Forbes it doesn't seem she was too shy being in front of the Camera when she was collecting $34M. Now suddenly she doesn't want to be in front of the camera? Ill be waiting for her to renounce all of her endorsements if she really is fearful of the media.

Last year saw Osaka overtake Serena Williams as the world's highest-paid female athlete, according to Forbes, which estimates that the world number three earned around US$34 million in 2020 from her endorsement deals with the likes of Nike, Beats by Dre, Mastercard and Nissin, among others
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I agree with your point but there is a big differences between getting fawned over by the director and photographer at a Nike ad shoot vs getting asked 15 times by 15 different reporters why you suck playing on clay.

That being said, the tournament has rules and she was aware of those rules before she signed up for the tournament.
 
pgg said:
I do wonder if there's some room for her to demand reasonable accommodation for a medical disability (a diagnosed anxiety disorder?), and how EU vs USA vs other nations' laws differ on that angle.

Anyway, I bet the tennis powers-powers-that-be recognize there's going to be a lot of bad PR coming their way if they try to play hardball with her now, so I'd expect them to make some concessions. And maybe we'll see all of the tennis players wear a chartreuse ribbon or other bit of mental health awareness flair soon ...
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Lol giant eye roll. History suggests sports companies will save face with PR campaigns while privately brutally enforcing contract obligations. Case in point, Nike actually ran a PR campaign to promote one of their Olympic runners who got pregnant with segments on the today show and in the NYtimes all while completely shutting off her payments until she ran a sanctioned race again even though she had cleared her plans with her coaches prior to getting pregnant. There is a reason Marshawn showed up to his post game conferences other than mocking the process.


www.nytimes.com

Opinion | Nike Told Me to Dream Crazy, Until I Wanted a Baby (Published 2019)

Being a mother and a champion was a crazy dream. It didn’t have to be.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
 
SnapperRocks said:
Lol giant eye roll. History suggests sports companies will save face with PR campaigns while privately brutally enforcing contract obligations. Case in point, Nike actually ran a PR campaign to promote one of their Olympic runners who got pregnant with segments on the today show and in the NYtimes all while completely shutting off her payments until she ran a sanctioned race again even though she had cleared her plans with her coaches prior to getting pregnant. There is a reason Marshawn showed up to his post game conferences other than mocking the process.


www.nytimes.com

Opinion | Nike Told Me to Dream Crazy, Until I Wanted a Baby (Published 2019)

Being a mother and a champion was a crazy dream. It didn’t have to be.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
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We'll see

Mental health is the buzzword of the decade
 
dabears505 said:
I really hope the tennis organizations don't bow to the snowflakes and give in. The media and coverage is what helps create the market for her and other players to make their money. Especially a sport like tennis and golf, which is entirely star driven need the stars to be out there and promote the sport.
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I don't buy it

The market is the game, not the athletes sitting behind a microphone. 98.2% of fans turn off the TV or change the channel when the game is over. The kind of weirdos who watch player press conferences are fanatics - they're not going to lose interest and quit watching the game and buying jerseys (and skirts or whatever womens tennis merchandise exists) and talking about their fantasy teams if the press conferences stop.

Most well-adjusted people would like to hear fewer athletes speak.
 
Zekchar said:
I disagree. If she retired today, in a few weeks we'll have forgotten her.

Ultimately it comes down to her contract. If she is contractually obligated to do media time, then that is her agreed upon duties and responsibilities. I absolutely respect her right to fight against the system and to then get a waiver, at the expense of some salary.

Let's bring this into our world. Do I have the right to stop doing attestations and filling out Pre-Ops in EPIC because I feel burnout and depression from PTSD? I have the right to do so, but my bosses have the right to terminate me because that then affects their billing and collections. I then can take my FU money and retire, as can Osaka ... but on a much smaller boat.
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I can name maybe 3 other womens tennis players and two of them are related so...
Meanwhile naomi osakas face is all over billboards and advertisements
 
Isn’t this kind of old news? Athletes and coaches get fined all the time and in all sports for skipping press conferences. Did Bill Belichick ever get fined for putting on one of his post game poutfests? I guess the difference here is Osaka decided to just bow out of the tournament instead of doing something she doesn’t want to do. She could have afforded to pay the fines and still play the tournament. This was a good PR move for her…I don’t follow tennis and never heard her name until now. My guess is she’ll make more money from endorsements coming her way. Smart move by her.
 
pgg said:
Supply and demand isn't silly, but this comment is.

Don't ever let your feelings get hurt by the market paying someone else what the market demands. It's not personal.

Besides, millions and millions of people derive happiness and joy from watching her play. In the grand universal scheme of who "deserves" what, she "deserves" that money more than a lot of other people "deserve" what they're paid.
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I don't think you got the intent of my post, i don't care what kind of money she makes or what she deserves. What i'm saying is that whether you are paid millions for hitting a tennis ball or doing a press conference doesn't realistically make any kind of sense (except that yeah, there is a market for it)
 
vector2 said:
I agree with your point but there is a big differences between getting fawned over by the director and photographer at a Nike ad shoot vs getting asked 15 times by 15 different reporters why you suck playing on clay.

That being said, the tournament has rules and she was aware of those rules before she signed up for the tournament.
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There is a huge difference. One you stand in front of a bunch of people with the "chance" of making alot of money. The other you get 34M no matter if you are good/bad/late.

Hard for me to feel sorry for someone who can quit tennis tomorrow and with her new PTSD/Anxiety diagnosis would continue to make 25M/yr endorsing.
 
emergentmd said:
There is a huge difference. One you stand in front of a bunch of people with the "chance" of making alot of money. The other you get 34M no matter if you are good/bad/late.

Hard for me to feel sorry for someone who can quit tennis tomorrow and with her new PTSD/Anxiety diagnosis would continue to make 25M/yr endorsing.
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She quits playing and that 25m will vanish quite shortly thereafter. She hasn't reached Peyton Manning or LeBron status where one makes millions for decades after leaving the sport.
 
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From a Strictly PR standpoint this has made her 10x more popular = 10x more endorsable = 10x more money. I am sure all the drug companies would be fawning over here. Think about it. MINORITY WOMEN tennis player beating ANXIETY/DEPRESSION/PTSD/PHOBIAS. That's 80% of the suppressed groups there.

Athletes know that their sport esp tennis depend on media. Look at how many people are now watching women tennis this week. Image if all Women tennis players banded together and decided to never do another tournament plug, news conference, Q&A. All you would ever see is a Tennis Match. The sport would fall off the face of the earth and we all know it.

Again, I find it interesting that she has social Phobia but can do endorsements and have a twitter page. I am sure she has all of the social media platforms too but too lazy to research. Seems like she is picking what she really dislikes and calling it a Phobia.
 
vector2 said:
She quits playing and that 25m will vanish quite shortly thereafter. She hasn't reached Peyton Manning or LeBron status where one makes millions for decades after leaving the sport.
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Still she can park her cash in VTI, move to a LCOL area, drive a Prius and be set for life😉
 
French Open can’t catch a break. When they threatened Osaka with expulsion from the tournament, I doubt the organizers anticipated that she would just withdraw. Now #1 Ashleigh Barty has also withdrawn due to injury. So world #1 and #2 are out.

www.theguardian.com

French Open: world No 1 Ash Barty retires from tournament with hip injury

Ash Barty, the world No 1, is out of the French Open after a recurring hip injury flared up during her second-round match with Magda Linette
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
nimbus said:
French Open can’t catch a break. When they threatened Osaka with expulsion from the tournament, I doubt the organizers anticipated that she would just withdraw. Now #1 Ashleigh Barty has also withdrawn due to injury. So world #1 and #2 are out.

www.theguardian.com

French Open: world No 1 Ash Barty retires from tournament with hip injury

Ash Barty, the world No 1, is out of the French Open after a recurring hip injury flared up during her second-round match with Magda Linette
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
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So #3,4,5 are like...:banana:
 
emergentmd said:
From a Strictly PR standpoint this has made her 10x more popular = 10x more endorsable = 10x more money. I am sure all the drug companies would be fawning over here. Think about it. MINORITY WOMEN tennis player beating ANXIETY/DEPRESSION/PTSD/PHOBIAS. That's 80% of the suppressed groups there.

Athletes know that their sport esp tennis depend on media. Look at how many people are now watching women tennis this week. Image if all Women tennis players banded together and decided to never do another tournament plug, news conference, Q&A. All you would ever see is a Tennis Match. The sport would fall off the face of the earth and we all know it.

Again, I find it interesting that she has social Phobia but can do endorsements and have a twitter page. I am sure she has all of the social media platforms too but too lazy to research. Seems like she is picking what she really dislikes and calling it a Phobia.
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What?!
She said she has depression and social anxiety. You think people with mental health diagnoses shouldn’t use social media? That’s a bizarre take. Sometimes the things that supposed educated physicians think is mind-boggling.
 
AMEHigh said:
What?!
She said she has depression and social anxiety. You think people with mental health diagnoses shouldn’t use social media? That’s a bizarre take. Sometimes the things that supposed educated physicians think is mind-boggling.
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While she is contractually obligated, it is clear that her mental health is affecting her to the extent that she has withdrawn!
I'm going to be honest, I watch tennis AVIDLY and I never watch the post-match interviews.
 
AMEHigh said:
What?!
She said she has depression and social anxiety. You think people with mental health diagnoses shouldn’t use social media? That’s a bizarre take. Sometimes the things that supposed educated physicians think is mind-boggling.
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So how does depression preclude her from talking to the media after a match?

She claims social anxiety but is happy to do millions in endorsements and engage the public via social media.

She just doesn't want to talk to the media when she loses.

Sounds like she's just picking and choosing to an extent.

What pro athlete doesn't know that in exchange for the fame and fortune you give up privacy and open yourself up to the media to an extent. If that's not acceptable, than stop playing pro sports.

I'm pretty sure if she hangs it up and just retires or becomes a random tennis coach, people will forget about her soon enough. Same for any other athlete or entertainer.
 
anonperson said:
So how does depression preclude her from talking to the media after a match?

She claims social anxiety but is happy to do millions in endorsements and engage the public via social media.

She just doesn't want to talk to the media when she loses.

Sounds like she's just picking and choosing to an extent.

What pro athlete doesn't know that in exchange for the fame and fortune you give up privacy and open yourself up to the media to an extent. If that's not acceptable, than stop playing pro sports.

I'm pretty sure if she hangs it up and just retires or becomes a random tennis coach, people will forget about her soon enough. Same for any other athlete or entertainer.
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So it sounds like you learned nothing about depression or anxiety in med school or residency?
Obviously I don’t know her personal history, but it seems like she might be having a difficult time right now and decided that she was unable to be in a healthy space to do press for this tournament. That is how depression and anxiety can manifest. Certain situations can make symptoms worse and things can eb and flow by the day, month or year.

More people are anxious and depressed these days due to the pandemic, and spoiler alert, being rich/famous doesn’t mean you’re 100% immune to a mental health diagnosis.

Its crazy that in 2021 there’s still stigma in regards to mental health diagnoses and that stigma is being perpetuated by doctors.

I don’t have any mental health diagnoses but I’ve certainly been at my "breaking point" a few times and have had to say no to certain things…all the while I was still able to use social media.

As far as her being able to do endorsements and interact on social media and not do after match press during this tournament, it’s hard to believe that you can’t understand the difference. I’m certainly not famous but I’ve done media and press before and it’s very different than me preparing a presentation (like preparing for an endorsement). And clearly doing press is not the same as sitting at home tweeting something.

It’s not like she said she was never ever going to do press again. Maybe she needs medication or an adjustment, maybe she needs more therapy. Whatever it is I’m glad she seems to be doing what’s best for her at the moment and hopefully things improve for her health wise and going forward that mental health concerns will be taken seriously for more people.
 
AMEHigh said:
So it sounds like you learned nothing about depression or anxiety in med school or residency?
Obviously I don’t know her personal history, but it seems like she might be having a difficult time right now and decided that she was unable to be in a healthy space to do press for this tournament. That is how depression and anxiety can manifest. Certain situations can make symptoms worse and things can eb and flow by the day, month or year.

More people are anxious and depressed these days due to the pandemic, and spoiler alert, being rich/famous doesn’t mean you’re 100% immune to a mental health diagnosis.

Its crazy that in 2021 there’s still stigma in regards to mental health diagnoses and that stigma is being perpetuated by doctors.

I don’t have any mental health diagnoses but I’ve certainly been at my "breaking point" a few times and have had to say no to certain things…all the while I was still able to use social media.

As far as her being able to do endorsements and interact on social media and not do after match press during this tournament, it’s hard to believe that you can’t understand the difference. I’m certainly not famous but I’ve done media and press before and it’s very different than me preparing a presentation (like preparing for an endorsement). And clearly doing press is not the same as sitting at home tweeting something.

It’s not like she said she was never ever going to do press again. Maybe she needs medication or an adjustment, maybe she needs more therapy. Whatever it is I’m glad she seems to be doing what’s best for her at the moment and hopefully things improve for her health wise and going forward that mental health concerns will be taken seriously for more people.
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Lol. Please don't try to denigrate me by claiming I didn't learn about mental health in medical school.

She wants it both ways.

No media if she loses. But the media is okay if she wins.

Sorry, but that's not what she signed up for when is being paid as a professional athlete.

She can do whatever she wants but there are actually consequences to one's actions. You can't just claim mental health and then be absolved of one's duties/responsibilities.

If she felt so strongly about her mental health situation, why not just withdraw to begin with? She only did when the organization indicated that repeated refusal to do her press duties could result in being expelled from the tournament. She was probably thinking she could dodge her duties and pay some measly fine.
 
dhb said:
I don't think you got the intent of my post, i don't care what kind of money she makes or what she deserves. What i'm saying is that whether you are paid millions for hitting a tennis ball or doing a press conference doesn't realistically make any kind of sense (except that yeah, there is a market for it)
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Getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to sit on a chair during surgery doesn't realistically make any kind of sense (except that yeah, there is a market for it)
 
Ronin786 said:
Getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to sit on a chair during surgery doesn't realistically make any kind of sense (except that yeah, there is a market for it)
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I'd rather get paid millions to sit in a plush chair in a nice corner office for "managing" people who get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to sit on a chair during surgery.
 
emergentmd said:
Nah, she is more popular now than ever. No worries, watch her end up being a commentator after her career is over. I am sure she would somehow beat her PTSD/Anxiety
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Keyword is "now." She ain't LeBron, Tom Brady, or Venus/Serena yet. She's only won 4 grand slams.

No one's saying she couldn't quit right now and be set for life, but you're implying that mental health problems have made her more popular overall and that she's still gonna be rolling in ad and media dollars for years if she retires right now... and that's simply not true.

Also, you seem to be going out of your way to generalize her diagnosis or whatever into blanket social anxiety, I guess in the attempt to paint her into a hypocrite because she can do media appearance A but not media appearance B, but if you would've spent 5 minutes maybe looking at what she or her team has actually said you would know that vague "social anxiety/phobias" are not the particular issue at hand.
 
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nimbus said:
The F U fund is often mentioned in this forum. Naomi Osaka has both F U money and F U talent. She wants to play tennis, not trot out for their stupid and extraneous dog and pony show. Well played young lady.



Naomi Osaka Quits the French Open After News Conference Dispute
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I love playing and watching tennis - probably will go to the US OPEN this year. So that is my background.

My thoughts -
Tennis players are the biggest baby prima donnas in any sport. They annoy the crap out of me.

Think about this. Tom Brady has huge, testosterone filled (probably exogenously...) men chasing him trying to basically crush his body, all while a crowd of 60,000 people are screaming - and he has to look through a tiny hole in his helmet for one of 4 guys several yards away mixed in with other guys all waving their arms - and he has to identify one of these guys, all while avoiding the huge men - and throw a ball and connect with the moving target.

And a tennis player, has to hit this tiny ball over a net a few feet away, into this GIANT box....and he basically gets to take his time to do it. And the tennis player DEMANDS everyone shut up, and no one can be moving in the stands - everyone has to be completely still while he accomplishes this task.

It's ridiculous - and should be hugely embarrassing for every tennis player that they can't do this task without complete silence.

(I do think the athleticism of tennis players is greatly under appreciated, so please don't misunderstand my point).

And now we see this attitude extend to all aspects of the game.

Regarding press conferences - no one is saying Noami isn't great, and that she doesn't deserve the very best treatment for her mental health. But press conferences are PART of the game, and if she can't handle it - no one is saying she wouldn't make a great tennis pro at a club somewhere, or she can sell shoes at Foot Locker.

Also, if she wants to not feel anxious with the press, then she should do more press events. If you want to feel comfortable about giving speeches (and you are terrified of doing them)...the best way forward, is to do lots of speeches. THAT is how you tackle and beat anxiety provoking situations. You face them and defeat them. But in today's society, the best way to treat anxiety is you avoid all situations that cause you anxiety and somehow that makes everything okay.

Also, why can't she take a beta- blocker before the press conference? That works great - and has been known for decades as a way to deal with social anxiety like speaking in front of people.

However, if the tennis world really wants to deal with this problem, they need to cut down purse amounts, and use that money to pay players for press time. Pay them for the appearance, and then per minute. Let's see how quickly Osaka's anxiety gets fixed then. I would say...ummm...it would be fixed in 3 minutes.

I can think of a great pay schedule.

Purse money at 100% payout includes press conferences. If you avoid them (player's choice), you get 80% payout.

The event could save a lot of money if the players avoid the press conference. It is a win-win for EVERYONE!
 
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anonperson said:
Lol. Please don't try to denigrate me by claiming I didn't learn about mental health in medical school.

She wants it both ways.

No media if she loses. But the media is okay if she wins.

Sorry, but that's not what she signed up for when is being paid as a professional athlete.

She can do whatever she wants but there are actually consequences to one's actions. You can't just claim mental health and then be absolved of one's duties/responsibilities.

If she felt so strongly about her mental health situation, why not just withdraw to begin with? She only did when the organization indicated that repeated refusal to do her press duties could result in being expelled from the tournament. She was probably thinking she could dodge her duties and pay some measly fine.
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She actually was complaining about the media after she won her match as well and has done it years before.
 
It’s funny how a lot of people who complain about the media constantly are now taking the side of the media when it deals with a person they don’t like. I personally think they should’ve found a solution, all she asked for was a cool down period before doing press. That’s not much to ask for.
 
Few are acknowledging where Osaka’s media issues all began - when she beat Serena Williams at the US Open. Serena showed perhaps the worst sportsmanship in a match since the days of McEnroe. But few in the media today are willing to call Serena out on her long-standing and repeated poor sportsmanship due to wokeism. And yes, Serena is absolutely the best women’s player ever and it isn’t close.

Tennis is an interesting sport, and historically it’s stars are ridiculous divas. Connors. McEnroe. Sampras was an exception. Certainly Agassi. Definitely the Williams sisters. Definitely Nadal. Federer is like Sampras, a rare exception, and perhaps the greatest ever.

The reality is that Osaka is likely no different than other sports stars. Her anxiety aside, she simply isn’t paid (directly) to sit in front of media and get scrutinized. It can’t be enjoyable. And as much as these people are paid in almost every other avenue of their life I don’t really blame them for disliking press conferences which few watch.

But it’s the age of wokeism. All the players should now wear pins on their shirts acknowledging mental health (while few to none do anything real to address the problems mental disease can cause and the millions affected). Osaka and her team were well aware of the rules and Instagram posts days before the start of a major didn’t, and shouldn’t, change those rules.
 
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She has social anxiety when sitting in front of a bunch of microphones and cameras and put on the spot and I can understand if someone doesn't want to deal with that. Of course she could just "play the game" and give a bunch of one word answers just to get through it but it must be bad enough she didn't even want to do that. It's not a valid argument to equate what someone does "on the court" or even on social media to how they're affected when they're put on the spot. Many a top level musician, artist, athlete, are incredible when they're in the zone doing what they do best but then are super awkward off stage/court/field.

Quite honestly I think the press conferences are stupid and 90% the press are asking ridiculously stupid questions. Imagine after every case you had to walk out of the OR and answer questions from 30 people who may or may not know what they're talking about. Basically and M&M after every case you perform.

I just want to watch her play tennis......and follow her IG (good lawd)
 
I support her 100%………..BUT……it’s a rough look when you just did the SI Swimsuit edition and then blame mental health issues on losses. I’m not saying she may not have something going on, just saying it’s a rough look.

Im curious what’s going on with Simone Biles. She literally just said straight up, “My heads not in it” I understand her pulling out because of you’re flipping on some uneven bars and your head is somewhere else, you could break your neck.
 
Osaka the highest paid female athlete ever and doesn’t even play in Wimbledon smh
 
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