Osaka on French Open interviews: No comment

I'm only familiar with Great Britain and France, but athletes here might reflect that one byproduct of less media interpersonal contact in those countries is that coverage is, in general
(exceptions exist of course) far more negative (both places) and sensationalistic (in Britain) than it is here.

 

Everything about this story defies common sense.

 

Zack Greinke was a few months younger than Naomi Osaka when he walked away from baseball and nearly retired due to some of the same issues.

 

Reading up a bit on her background this morning, apparently she was a child prodigy in the Marinovich/Williams sisters mold, where her father programmed her from a young age to be a tennis star. Maybe she's finally cracking like so many of those types seem to do at some point?

 

Reading Osaka's statement through a somewhat objective lens, she quietly recognized her approach backfired. I think she expected to get a lot of support from other players/many in the sport. That never came.

And so we're all clear, none of this is good for anybody -- Osaka, the sport, sports writers, etc. When you're one of the best at your craft at 23 and never really been subjected to heavy criticism, that's hard to handle at that age. Building a skin thick enough for the modern public eye is not easy.

 

Both excellent points.

Here’s another excellent point, and I guarandamntee that no sports writers will be calling him out on his bullshit.



One of these is important. One of these ain’t important. Your choice illustrates who you are.

 

Nice post. Knee-jerk reaction is to say she should have talked about her media anexity first - not that the media would change its approach, of course. Especially the Japanese media. I've only read about the hordes following Japanese players in MLB, but if anyone who has covered MLB is following this thread, maybe they can contribute.

Would be nice if the WTA would step in and provide some media coaching. or sought some on her own accord.

 

My experience covering baseball and at several Olympics is that the Japanese media are zealous but professional in their approach. At Atlanta in 1996 I believe, a Japanese runner won some big race (women's marathon maybe) and the mixed zone was impossible for US scribes because the winner was surrounded by Japanese reporters and most of all spoke no English. One of them came and gave us her quotes when the interview was over which is pretty damn nice IMO. Since I speak no Japanese I couldn't possibly tell if their questions are as intrusive and personal as day, English reporters' questions always are. But I did learn when my wife became friends with a Japanese woman whose husband was sent to MIT by his company that sportswriter is considered a high prestige job in Japan, which doesn't match with a tabloid vibe.

 

The Japanese MLB horde is as almost impossibly deferential as it is almost impossibly large. Every minute detail is analyzed, but it never seems to be in a tabloid-ish manner. Of course that still wasn't enough for Ichiro, who remained aloof for most of his career. But Hideki Matsui used to take the reporters out to dinner.

Sort of related: I remember the game where he broke his wrist, which was obviously going to end his transcontinental consecutive game streak. You could actually hear the stampede of the Japanese reporters heading downstairs at the old Yankee Stadium to file in the old workroom.

 

I used to really feel for the Japanese guys. Imagine covering a daily sports beat 12 time zones from home in a country where not even the alphabet is the same. Tough gig.

 

I agree with this. Her statement upon her withdrawal was more compelling than the original, and invited sympathy. But she needs to work this out with the association. If she only wants to do media at the end of a tournament, so be it. But that has to be win or lose. And she can't pick one outlet she especially likes and ignores the rest.

 

Never been in a MLB press box but I remember going to a Devil Rays-Mariners game at the Trop during Ichiro’s second season in America. You’d think the novelty would have worn off a bit, but nope. Sat in a section full of tourists in M’s gear (I guess St Pete was the easiest ticket available) and every time he was at bat the cameras started clicking loud enough to be mistaken for a cicada hatchery.

I hope Osaka takes the time she needs to regain a healthy balance and outlook. WaPo had a good article over the weekend about Ash Barty’s extended sabbaticals and how they’ve made her a better player.