Naomi Osaka said she has felt “ungrateful” at times over the past year for not appreciating her life as one of the best tennis players in the world. The Japanese spoke to the media before falling to Jill Teichmann and after beating Coco Gauff in her debut at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, her first tournament not counting the Olympics since leaving Roland Garros after being punished for not giving. media press conferences, claiming that his mental health had been affected by some questions.
At her first press conference in Cincinnati, Osaka cried and walked out after a question about her relationship with the media. “I was wondering why she was so upset, I guess, like she didn't want to talk to the media.”said the Japanese tennis player.
Osaka also made this sincere reflection and how she has lived these difficult moments. “I wondered if I was so scared, because sometimes I would see headlines for some tennis players losing and the headline the next day was that they had collapsed. or that they wouldn't be good again. I just thought about waking up every day and how I must feel like I was winning. The choice to go out and play, see the fans and see that there are people who come to see me is quite an achievement. I'm not sure when I started to feel uncomfortable. It was as if that was no longer an achievement for me. I felt that I was very ungrateful for that fact. “
The winner of four Grand Slam said that the restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus epidemic has made everything “really stressful” for her, but what happened in Haiti and Afghanistan caused her to change her point of view. “You see what is happening in Haiti and Afghanistan and the world is definitely crazy. And for me, just be hitting a tennis ball in America and have people come to see me … I would like to be myself in this situation instead of anyone else in the world, “Osaka said.