French Open 2021: Naomi Osaka and the double-edged swords that are press conferences

Naomi Osaka decided to put a week of controversy behind her in the most surprising and unfortunate manner on Monday: by pulling out of the French Open . Her desire to skip the mandatory post-match press conferences to help her mental health didn’t go down well with the organisers. To make matters worse — for tournament, the player, fans and media — she was fined, threatened with default in Paris and at future majors .

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— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 31, 2021

While the organisers and the other three slams didn’t handle the situation well , Osaka, who has been measured in her communication thus far, didn’t do a stellar job this time around. It must be stated categorically at this point that we shouldn’t have had to reach this stage. There should have been a private conversation between the player and the tournament for an amicable solution. The 23-year-old’s decision to play a high-pressure tournament and not do mandatory press conference wasn’t going to sit well. At the heart of it, the interactions can be dull, accusatory, pointless and controversial. At the same time, they can shed insight into the mind of a player and hear their perspective of a match or moment.

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— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 26, 2021

In her original statement , published on 27 May, Osaka said, “I have often felt that people have no regard for athletes’ mental health and this rings true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one.” “We’re often sat there and asked questions that we’ve been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds, and I am not going to subject myself to people who doubt me.” “I believe the whole situation is kicking a person while they are down and I don’t understand the reasoning behind it,” she went on to add.

Osaka’s notes point towards an athlete who has had bouts of depression since 2018 and suffers from anxiety. A look back at the 2019 Wimbledon press conference, and the move in the past week makes a lot of sense. Visibly upset after a first round loss, Osaka near-mumbled through questions before reaching a point where she told the moderator, “I think I am about to cry” and then left the room. “Of course they (French Open) could have perhaps done it in a way where they could have figured out a way to do pre-determined questions, and she would have come in and answered three-four questions relevant to that day’s match. And that’s about it. You see, general people, youngsters can also gain some valuable insights from the players,” said former India player and currently India’s Billie Jean King Cup captain Vishal Uppal to Firstpost. “Press can play a very important role and just like every other profession, there’s good press and there’s not so good press. We have to deal with it.” “I think I can understand where Osaka is coming from because the press does have this habit of twisting what a player says and the beauty of English language is that the omission of a couple of words can totally change the meaning of the entire sentence. So the press also has to do more to develop trust with the players. If they keep distorting what is said, a lot of the top players will stop talking to the press because, you know, nobody wants an unnecessary controversy, they just want to play, they just want to focus on their sport, " he added. Sports psychologist Mugdha Bavare believes it is important to be in control of the situation when facing the media even when facing doubts. “Generally from a mental training perspective, I would obviously say that self-doubt or self-confidence are the things which should not be dependent on how and what other people are asking you or looking at you. It is something that internally has to be developed. When I’m training my elite athletes also, I suggest whether you’re facing the media, or are facing the crowd, or an opponent, there should not be external things that should decide and create doubts in you. But it is your own self-belief and self-confidence, which needs to take you ahead,” she said before Osaka’s decision to withdraw.

Confirmed with Naomi Osaka’s team that this Reddit post is indeed from her older sister, Mari Osaka. Gives unique insight amid Naomi’s silence.

(Worth noting, probably, that Osaka did not do press after her loss in Rome to Pegula, from what I’ve heard, as she wasn’t requested.) pic.twitter.com/VtYT57bOYS

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) May 30, 2021

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Her older sister Mari tried to provide an insight into the four-time major champion with a post on Reddit. She said Osaka had been affected by frequent questioning of her ability on clay, including by a family member, and that she felt she was being “told that she has a bad record on clay.” After losing in the first round in Rome, Mari Osaka stated her sister was “not OK mentally.” She added in Naomi’s defence, “Tennis players don’t get paid to do press conferences. They only get paid when they win matches.” There are some who believe media interactions are part of the job. Rafael Nadal reckons “the press made us the athletes we are,” while Ashleigh Barty said, “We know what we sign up for as professional tennis players.” Then there are some, like Roger Federer, who try and make the most of this obligation. An obligation that ends up being a huge opportunity for reporters and media outlets who are not fighting (or unlikely to win) to get an exclusive with the Osaka, Nadal’s of the tennis world. There are others who are not big fans of post-match press conferences. Nick Kyrgios and Venus Williams have long detested the practice. Maria Sharapova, Eugenie Bouchard, Serena Williams and Anna Kournikova are some of the athletes who have been on the receiving end of some intrusive and creepy questions. Johanna Konta dished some back at the reporters in 2018. For the tours, the tournaments and for Naomi herself, this is a moment of reflection. A moment to pick up the pieces and learn going forward because the sport needs an Osaka – press conference or not.