The Cincinnati WTA 1,000 will mark Naomi Osaka's return to competition on the WTA circuit almost three months after her abrupt retirement from Roland Garros. (only interrupted by her participation in the Tokyo Games) after refusing to appear at a press conference before the media alleging mental health reasons, a fact for which she was financially sanctioned.
Since then Osaka has given up competing at Wimbledon, has presented his new documentary on Netflix and She has been in charge of lighting the cauldron at the Tokyo Olympic Games, where she again participated in an official tournament but where she was surprised by Marketa Vondrousova when it started as one of the great favorites to the Olympic gold. However, Osaka herself made an applauded gesture after confessing that He would donate all his winnings from the Cincinnati tournament to those affected by the earthquake that struck Haiti, a country from which he has roots.
This Monday Osaka tried to overcome her phobia of press conferences in the previous WTA 1,000 in Cincinnati, where the Japanese appeared again after the episode that happened at Roland Garros. However, this first press conference turned out to be more tense than expected for Osaka, as a journalist blamed the Japanese woman who used the media when it suited her.
It was then that Osaka responded again about her fears of press appearances. “When you tell me that I'm not crazy about dealing with you, what do you mean? I meant that the press conference time is the hardest for me. I feel like I can't speak for everyone, I can only speak for myself. Since I was young I have attracted the attention of the media and I think it is due to my experience and the way I play. “
The Japanese also acknowledged that she knows that she feels in the focus of the media and assured that she is trying to find a balance. “First of all I am a tennis player and that is why there are many people interested in me. I want to say that that is why I feel different from many people and I cannot avoid that there are things that I tweet or say that are useful for news or things like that. I also want to say that I don't know how to find that balance. I imagine that at the same time as you. “
However, after this answer, Osaka burst into tears at the press conference and, despite attempts to answer the questions, the Japanese finally decided to abandon the appearance in the face of the situation that had been generated. However, this Sunday Osaka expressed in her social networks the illusion that made her return to training in front of the fans while the tennis player also tries to recover normality after a 2021 season with many ups and downs.