Naomi Osaka Opens Up About Emotional Press Conference at Western & Southern Open

After an emotional press conference Monday, tennis player Naomi Osaka explained her reaction in another session Wednesday:

"I was wondering why I was so affected, I guess. Like what made me not want to do media in the first place. And then I was thinking, I was wondering if I was scared because sometimes I would see headlines of players losing and then the headline the next day would be like 'a collapse' or 'they're not that great anymore.'"

"So then I was thinking, me waking up every day, for me, I should feel like I'm winning, you know? Like, the choice to go out there and play, to go see fans, that people come out and watch me play, that itself is an accomplishment. I'm not sure when along the way I started desensitizing that. It started not being an accomplishment for me. So I felt like I was very ungrateful on that fact."

On Monday, Osaka was asked a question about balancing her dislike for press conferences with the benefits of having such a platform. "I'm not really sure how to balance the two, I am figuring out at the same time as you are," Osaka said.

Before answering, she struggled to respond:

Osaka noted Wednesday that the state of the world has added stress:

"I think definitely this whole COVID thing was really stressful with the bubbles and not seeing people and not having the interactions. But I think, like, I guess seeing the state of the world, how everything is in Haiti, how everything is in Afghanistan right now, is definitely really crazy."

"And for me to just be hitting a tennis ball in the United States right now, and having people come and watch me play, is, I don't know. I would want to be myself in this situation rather than anyone else in the world."

Osaka notably said she would not do media during the French Open, which led to her being fined $15,000. She eventually withdrew from the tournament and later skipped other events, including Wimbledon.

The No. 2 player in the WTA rankings returned for the Olympics in her native Japan, but she was eliminated in the Round of 16.

The Western & Southern Open represents her return to WTA competition, and she has already advanced to the third round after a win over Coco Gauff. She is scheduled to face Jil Teichmann in her next match in Cincinnati on Thursday.