Naomi Osaka, defending champion at the US Open, said that her failure at Roland Garros, linked to her refusal to speak to the press, was a situation that would not happen again, and that she “learned better. manage a lot of things “.
“I feel like I did a lot of things wrong then,” Osaka said Friday at a pre-Grand Slam New York press conference. “But I’m also the type of person who lives in the moment, and says or does what she feels. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing.” “There are a lot of things that I learned to do better. And I don’t think the same situation will happen again. It is sobering but I had no idea how much of a problem it was going to become,” added world No. 3. In the spring, his refusal to answer questions from the media at Roland Garros had created a big controversy. This earned her financial penalties, with threats of heavier penalties from all four Majors if she remained silent. She then withdrew before the second round of the Paris tournament, not without having revealed anxiety problems, marked by “several depressive episodes”. A speech that has raised awareness around the world on the issue of mental health problems affecting professional athletes. After a break that led her to skip Wimbledon, the 23-year-old missed her return to the Tokyo Games, where, after lighting the Olympic cauldron, she cracked under the pressure in the round of 16. And ten days ago, in Cincinnati, she burst into tears for her first press conference on the WTA circuit since Roland Garros, before giving in in the third round against the Swiss Jil Teichmann, 76th in the world. “I know I haven’t played as many matches as I would have liked (before the US Open), not even a quarterfinal. But I feel pretty happy with the way I’m playing and pretty confident about it. compared to my current situation. I am not declaring that I will do wonders here, but I hope it will work in the end, “she concluded. (Belga)
