Really feel for Naomi Osaka
 

I feel so bad for Osaka. She is such a great player

Hmmmm, who is she, what does she play, and why do you feel sorry for her?

Feel bad for her and her agent. Being ranked 1 or 2 in women's tennis should have her in a happier place.

Apparently she suffers from anxiety when being interviewed. I have not seen her play but she seems very talented and was ranked 1 or 2 before she withdrew from competition at Roland Garros. Hopefully she gets help and comes back.

I read yesterday that the pro tour officials tried to contact Naomi and "her advisors" to discuss her problem(s) and try to understand exactly where she was coming from, but to no avail. They got no response. I admit to knowing nothing about her or her situation, but if I were to guess, I would guess that she is somewhat of a diva and is getting bad advice from her entourage. I also read that she is the highest paid female athlete in the world.

She has a social anxiety disorder. She has trouble with interviews, that's her hang-up. She is also an ace tennis player and was on her way up to incredible greatness and championships.

The rules of the league were that she is -required- to give interviews.

But because of her anxiety disorder, she -can't- give them. They refused to give her an exception to the rule, and so she had to leave the circuit.

Sport rallies round Naomi Osaka after tennis star reveals depression battle following French Open withdrawal | Evening Standard

I hope she pulls out of it and recovers.

Life gets really tuff when you’re get all grown up.

The top athletes make most of their money from corporate sponsorship

The sponsors need their product to be on display (being worn during interviews etc.) so if she can't hack an interview she should not be accepting sponsorship

Get professional help
 

It is projected that she is the highest paid female athlete. She should get professional help...

Why does it seem like everyone has something nowadays?

First let me say that I have truly enjoyed watching Naomi Osaka play tennis for the last 2-3 years. She is a phenomenal player, and I have always rooted for her to win. This is the first I have ever heard of her having a social anxiety disorder as I never heard her mention it before. She stated that she has trouble with interviews, that's her hang-up! Well, tennis is a very mentally tough sport, and I have watched her play killer aggressive tennis, so I am amazed to hear that she 'can’t do interviews'. Unfortunately it is expected of the players to meet with the press after the games and do interviews. I feel for her ‘problem’, but I don’t see how she can expect to be exempt from doing the unexpected. In fact, I think lots of the players hate the interviews, especially if the person being interviewed has just lost the match….but they just have to ‘put their big girl panties on’ and do the interview.
Her boyfriend, Cordae (who I had never heard of until he hooked up with Osaka).…. is a black rapper. I just googled him and was shocked to see some of his rapper lyrics. He throws the n***** word around like no one is offended by it. To me that is troublesome, that a young black man would use the word repeatedly in his music, when most people are highly offended by it. Does he think he is exempt from political correctness? Like Osaka, he's a vocal supporter of BLM and an activist. She is so talented and promising, and I truly hope that Naomi Osaka doesn’t let him drag her down and ruin her career. .............Just my humble opinion.

So he is going to drag her down because he is a black rap singer and activist and uses the "N" word? Black people do use the word, although it has a different meaning and context than if white people use it. Black people claim it comes from a place of shared oppression. When whites use it, it is derogatory. As far as his music, he is considered quite gifted, and is a two time Grammy nominee.

You don't have to talk to tennis balls. You just have to hit them over the net. Being a great tennis player is not the same as being comfortable giving interviews. She quit, rather than give interviews. The situation is resolved. I'm not sure why this is such a big deal to anyone other than her. Some people stutter and spend their lives avoiding social interaction because of it, and still manage to have brilliant careers - that don't require that they have long conversations with anyone.

Y'all need a hobby. Seriously. Giving some tennis player crap because she has some kind of mental issue with giving interviews - do you want to just strap her down and tape a microphone to her face and force her to answer questions whether she likes it or not? I mean - what do you EXPECT from her? She already quit because of it.

Chris Rock (a black comedian) used the N word in his monologue to describe some blacks in a derogatory fashion.

He said it. Not me.

Using the "N" word in any context, whatever your skin color is, is insulting and incendiary. No one has the right to use it. This so-called "rapper" needs to clean up his act. As far as being a Grammy nominee, that shows me that the Grammy awards ceremonies are self-important, pretentious events.

There is disagreement even among Blacks as to whether or not it is okay to use the N word. I know as white person, that it is not okay for whites to use it. I'll let the people of color make the decision on whether or not there are situations where the word is okay to use. Be that as it may, the poster was insinuating that because the singer is a rapper, uses the N word, and is an activist, that he is somehow going to "bring down" Naomi. If you take the N word out of the equation, I don't see the problem. He's a gifted singer with a bright future.

NOW I remember why I seldom jump in and give my opinion on anything. For a moment there, I just lost my mind!
In hindsight, I shouldn't have even mentioned her boyfriends color, because his color doesn't matter to me. And winning awards doesn't mean he has real talent. His actions and lifestyle say a lot about him. The fact that he makes music using F words and N words is enough to turn me off, and I don't care if he is white or purple. I have friends of all color!
Osaka has always seemed like a gentle soul and I was taught that it isn't smart to keep company with people that speak like her boyfriend. Her tennis career seemed so very important to her, and she was successful and making millions. I fear it might be hard for her to be an activist and maintain her fan base. However, she is obviously making decisions that might change her life.
Oh, by the way, I get the feeling that some of you seem to think that she has quit tennis. She never stated that. She simply dropped out of the French Open. Again, just my humble opinion.

1. It's never ok to use it
2.The decision for decent people is to never use it.
3. I don't believe she'll quit because she doesn't want to give interviews
4. Everyone in some kind of spotlight is an activist.
5. A gifted singer with a filthy mouth.
6. Naomi: Get your head straight, dump this "gifted singer" and forge your own future.

The topic is Naomi Osaka…withdrawal from French Open and mental health issues.

Please don’t turn this into another polarizing discussion about race or the thread will be closed.

Moderator

I question the authenticity of being "unable" to give interviews. This link will take you to an interview she gave in 8/2020. Can it be that anxiety is so great she can't do interviews that promote her career, but less so when she discusses her activism? I struggle with that. Naomi Osaka: She Wore BLM Masks to '''Make People Start Talking''' | Time

Mmmm? do I see similarities to Whitney Houston here (i hope not?) Clock ticking? Or snowball heading down hill? If I was her I’d get help quickly cause don’t take long to be forgotten on pro tour? Every tournament missed the field gets stronger?

I think Osaka has some very odd opinions and she may have social anxiety and I feel for her but voicing these opinions will hurt her endorsements.

I feel sorry for Naomi because it's stated that she's going through depression. That's something that goes far beyond interviews.


It would have taken a verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry strong person to get through the debacle of her US Open final against Serena--her first major final win, and the crowd booing despite Serena trying to calm everyone down and turn the situation around. It's said that Naomi hasn't been able to overcome that.

Nonetheless, I hope she comes back. My suggestion, and I am only half joking, is that she take lessons from some NFL quarterback--Ben Roethlisberger comes to mind--on how to answer interview questions without actually answering them. "Yes, I have a great team, and we all pull together," "I always enjoy playing here; the crowd is great," "Thank you all for coming." No matter what the question.

I'm serious. She could get some coaching on this.

See Post #9.

Simple. Accept the sponsors rules, or don’t take their money.

And that's exactly what happened. She couldn't accept the sponsor's rules, and so she bowed out of the race.

Completely agree. This girl knows the requirements. She has been on the circuit for some time so it's part of being a athlete. She will be asked tough questions as well as silly ones. For $55 million, easy. Good luck, kid, you'll certainly need it.