Tennis ace Naomi Osaka deserves no sympathy
Naomi Osaka's withdrawal from the 2023 Australian Open without a proper reasoning raises questions on her desire to even continue playing the sport.
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Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka knows how to milk the system, literally. The Australian Open was witness to another bombshell being dropped on Sunday as the Japanese superstar made herself unavailable to play at the season’s first Major in Melbourne from January 16 to 29. As it is, the AO has been bombed by withdrawals, some kind of a jinx, with Carlos Alcaraz and Venus Williams pulling out. That was due to injuries sustained.
In the case of Osaka, winner of four Grand Slam titles — two each at the Australian Open and the US Open — she has been playing hide and seek under the cloak of mental health issues. Just to jog the readers’ memory, Naomi Osaka, born to a Japanese mother and a Haitian-American father, used the United States of America as her base for long.
At 25, she is smart in every sense, with her net worth running into billions. Forbes estimated her earnings at $ 50 plus million plus some time last year. For someone who is into all kinds of business which brings her green bags (billions of dollars), her mental health issue is now an excuse. She is the same athlete who did not even spare the Tokyo Olympics, where she collected a cool pile to appear as a brand ambassador for Japan.
Pray, if she is Japanese and her heart and soul beat for Japan, why was there a business angle in it? Pray, if Osaka is a solid professional, why is she hiding behind issues which are really not plaguing her. One has to call a spade a spade and Osaka has been fooling fans for a very long. Her appearances and disappearances have been crazy and she has left people wondering.
Sad day for Australian Open as they announce Naomi Osaka will not compete in Melbourne
When she first spoke of mental health issues two years ago, people took her seriously. Seriously, now, none does. She is more busy with good things in life, has a boyfriend, and likes to live life king-size. Look at her business interests, they range from skincare to talent agency and production deals. She endorses a dozen deals, all for the money. At one point of time in 2021, she was almost in the $ 60 million zone.
First things first. On hard courts, Osaka has been a tough cookie. When she beat Serena Williams for her first US Open title, she won many fans. Her fan base grew and she was the diva of tennis. More people fell in love with her, for various reasons from tennis to color. It’s easy to be a young champion. When the pressure of expectation starts building up, you start crumbling like a cookie.
In 2021, Osaka said she would not do press conferences at the French Open. Her reasoning was media asked prying questions. That was a bundle of lies because the WTA is there at all press conferences and the Q and A session is moderated. Osaka fooled the world to believe she has mental health issues. If it was so serious, as it appeared in 2021, she had sympathy. Now, she does not.
Tennis is not her priority. There is no way you can compare her with the most illustrious champions like Serena Williams or even Ash Barty, both retiring last year. Osaka should know lying will take her nowhere nor will silence. She can bask in the glory of billions but tennis fans are not fools. They love the sport, idolize the stars and will lose respect when you start lying.
No player is bigger than the sport, not even Naomi Osaka. Her wins in four Majors were major, her disappearing act today is shameful. She will soon be known as a person who faked mental health issues. All those who stood by her have serious doubts now.
Today, Naomi Osaka is laughing stock. “Won’t get fooled again,” to borrow lyrics from a famous song sung by The Who! She has handled the mental health issue in a very immature way. That is, if at all there was an issue.
What’s your take?
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S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)