Naomi Osaka leaves in tears after agent accuses reporter of 'appalling behaviour' in press conference
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Updated 17/08/2021 at 10:12 GMT
World No 2 Naomi Osaka had to pause her press conference ahead of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati as she was left tearful following a question from a reporter. Osaka has not played on the WTA Tour since pulling out of the French Open, having refused to attend press conferences to protect her mental health.
Osaka left in tears, has to leave press conference after exchange with reporter
Naomi Osaka struggled to hold back tears in her first press conference since returning to the WTA Tour after reportedly being asked an “aggressively toned question”.
The world No 2 pulled out of the French Open in early June citing mental health issues, having refused to attend press conferences at the tournament.
Osaka was fined by tournament organisers for her decision and has not played on the WTA Tour since.
She did attend press conferences at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, but on Monday returned to the tour ahead of playing at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
Osaka answered several questions before being asked about the balance between having a big media profile and not talking to the media. Tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg says that it was "a fairly aggressively toned question” and “Osaka tried to engage, but after her answer began crying”.
The four-time Grand Slam champion could be seen lowering her cap down over her face and wiping away tears.
The press conference was then paused and Osaka left the room before returning and saying "sorry for walking out" before answering the remaining questions.
In answer to the question about her relationship with the media, Osaka said: "Ever since I was young, I have had a lot of media interest on me, and I think it's because of my background as well as how I play. I'm a tennis player. That's why a lot of people are interested in me.
"I would say in that regard I'm quite different to a lot of people, and I can't really help that there are some things that I tweet or some things that I say that kind of create a lot of news articles or things like that, and I know it's because I have won a couple of Grand Slams and I have done a lot of press conferences that these things happen.
"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."
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Osaka's agent Stuart Duguid said in a statement to Rothenberg: "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 behaviour.
"And this insinuation that Naomi owes her off court success to the media is a myth – don’t be so self-indulgent."
Osaka, who was beaten in the third round of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, says she will be donating her prize money from the Western & Southern Open to support earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the country on Saturday which has seen the death toll rise to over 1,200 people and more than 5,700 injured, according to the country's civil protection agency.
In response Osaka - whose father is Haitian - has pledged financial support to help those who need it.
"For Haiti, I feel like I'm not really doing that much," she said. "I could do more, and I'm trying to figure out what I can do and what exactly or where exactly to put my energy into.
"The prize money thing is sort of like the first thing that I thought of that I could do that would raise the most awareness. I guess that is the reason why I announced it. It's really scary, because like I see the news every day, and honestly the earthquake was kind of close to, you know, my parents' school there, so I'm honestly not really sure how that's doing and I haven't seen any pictures or video of it yet."
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