“Openness and authenticity made her more vulnerable,” Ben Rothenberg decodes what went wrong for Naomi Osaka at the 2021 French Open leading to her mental breakdown

Ben Rothenberg tries to explain Naomi Osaka's decision not to attend press conferences.

“Openness and authenticity made her more vulnerable,” Ben Rothenberg decodes what went wrong for Naomi Osaka at the 2021 French Open leading to her mental breakdown

Ben Rothenberg and Naomi Osaka ( Credits: X.com and Sky Sports)

Popular tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg has been keenly following the personal and professional career of Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka since she first emerged on the WTA Tour way back in 2014. 

The American tennis journalist has also written and published a book on the former World No. 1, in which he highlights her career and the challenges that she has faced so far.

YouTube video

That’s not all, the American further talked extensively about the infamous 2021 French Open incident, where the four-time Grand Slam champion decided to boycott the very important press conferences by the media.

But with hindsight, it was also clear that such openness and authenticity also made her more vulnerable; because she didn't hide behind cliches like so many athletes do, she felt and processed every question deeply and unguardedly.
Explaining this move by the Japanese tennis player, Ben Rothenberg stated said via Newsweek

Continuing further, he shed a bit of light on how her decision to not attend press conferences did prove to be a bit of a shock to him and many others as well. 

As per Rothenberg himself, Naomi Osaka was very straightforward and natural with the media, which is one of the reasons why she is loved so much by the people. However, he also felt that this decision was not well thought out by the Japanese because of the criticism she faced because of it.

 As pressure built up in her mind—both because she had won the last two major tournaments she'd played and because the Tokyo Olympics were fast approaching—she decided media obligations were an area where she could slam on the brakes to regain control, but she underestimated how much whiplash that would cause her.
Trying to understand the meaning behind such an erratic move, the American further stated

Naomi Osaka is all set to make a comeback to the sport

The four-time Grand Slam champion took an indefinite break from the sport last year after she announced her pregnancy with her rapper boyfriend, Cordae. She has ever since been missing in action.

However, recently, the former World No. 1 has confirmed her participation in the upcoming 2024 season as she aims to make a solid comeback to the sport with the Brisbane Open starting early in the next year.

Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka ( Credits: ABC)

The Japanese have also sent out a warning to the top players on the tour currently. Iga Swiatek and others, as she not only wants to make a comeback but also has eyes to dethrone the current World No. 1 to reclaim her top rank and pose as a threat to her opponents.

She aims to dominate the sport as she once did. With that being said, it will be interesting to see how she performs in the next season.

In case you missed it: