Love, Balls and Courting: Tennis V

[Fiero425]

It would Totally set a precedent to allow osaka to try to turn a tournament into a gigantic safe space where she can never be criticized or challenged. All players would do it! Djokovic? Serena. I mean they have gotten away with one question press conferences. Osaka seemingly doenst know the one question and leave tactic

So what? This is why society sucks; the conformity! Everyone's so hypersensitive, individuality is frowned upon! That little girl was the best thing that's happened to this sport and these nitwits have run her off! It's not the first time! Borg had the same trouble way back when and he left for good at the end of 1981 as a 26 y.o.! Special circumstances and privilege haven't been anything new! I'm sure accommodations of some sort have been perpetrated for Fedal over the years! She was honest about what was what and Osaka wound up being a target!

 

[ioana]

She was honest about what was what and Osaka wound up being a target!

The way I understand this, both FFT and ITF tried to contact Naomi and her team after the initial statement came out stating she would not do press conferences -exactly because they wanted to try and accommodate that. They never got a response and only then issued their own statement, pointing out consequences for repeat violations of Code of Conduct could go all the way to a default.

Statement from Grand Slam tournaments regarding Naomi Osaka - Roland-Garros - The official site

No.2 seed has been issued a fine in the wake of her infringement of mandatory media interviews at Roland-Garros

www.rolandgarros.com

I actually think Naomi has a valid point about room for improvement in press conferences -moderators, harder to get credentials etc. I don't think preemptively posting on social media instead of approaching tournament first was the right approach. Nor did her sister's midnight posts on reddit help matters. Her withdrawal post was well thought out, but I don't think it should have come to that.
Unfortunately, I don't think she surrounded herself with the best people in the last few years -and the way she approached this is just symptomatic of that problem. Anyone who had a corporate job could have spotted the potential blow-up as soon as they read her initial statement. Social media first is not the preferred way of handling things in corporations and that's exactly how the ITF runs Slams.

Hopefully she gets some professional help during her time off and is able to come back from this. Olympics in Tokyo wouldn't be the same without her!

 

[Vash01]

The media and tournament promoters never learn a lesson; esp. dealing with young people! It was if they pushed Naomi out making such a "to do" about her skipping after-match interviews! It's a requirement, she was being fined, she was honest with why she was withholding, but "talking heads" can't help making it a bigger story than it needed to be! Now they come back with phony concern due to mental stability issues! "Ahhh, thanks, but no thanks idiot media!" I get more and more exercized over the years seeing how the MSM has degenerated into "thirsty wannabees" over actual reporters!

In the world of sports, the latest example of what I'm talking about is with ex-basketball pro Kwame Brown! He was drafted #1 by Michael Jordan over 20 years ago! Thru the media, commentators, now other ex-players overburdened this 17 year old so unfairly I barely want to post this! He was undermined and made to feel inadequate, finally becoming a punch-line on late night TV! He played for at least 12 years, earned $10's of Millions, and had a nice little career for a poor, homeless kid! After 20 years he has a forum and is going after those detractors and it's been a joy to see and hear! His biggest adversary was Stephen A. Smith and he's being made to look foolish after so many years of abusing this kid! Now he's taking the smacks upside the head! Love it!

A 23 year old is hardly a "little girl". She is a fully grown adult and a professional. Her profession has rules that she doesn't like. She can discuss those with the right people. She wants special treatment because she won 4 grand slam titles? Serena Williams handled a lot more.

There are reasons for the media interviews. The sport is for everyone, not just for Naomi Osaka. The sport is much bigger than one player.

She doesn't like to answer tough questions. Negative questions create doubts in her mind. So what? All others in her profession handle it as part of the work they chose for themselves. People handle things they don't like as part of their jobs.

She can afford the best psychologists if she has mental problems. Instead she wants the officials to give her a pass while her opponents face the media. The officials say they want equality for all players, and I agree with them.

She needs to behave like a professional. May be withdrawing from the French Open will give her the opportunity to do some introspection, get treatment if she needs one, and make some good decisions.

 

[Sylvia]

Serena Williams was asked about Naomi Osaka in her post-match presser:

Serena offers support to Osaka after French Open withdrawal

Serena Williams offered her support to Naomi Osaka on Monday after the Japanese player's decision to withdraw from the French Open in the wake of her boycott of press conferences.

www.reuters.com

 

[MacMadame]

She wants special treatment because she won 4 grand slam titles?

She didn't actually want special treatment. She was quite prepared to pay the fines that would come from not attending the press conferences.

This article, from a Sports reporter who covers tennis, has a different perspective.

We’re not the good guys: Osaka shows up problems of press conferences | Jonathan Liew

Young athletes are expected to answer the most intimate questions in a cynical and often predatory environment

www.theguardian.com

 

[manhn]

That is easier for someone of Osaka's privileged position to be able to pay the fines. A lower ranked player with similar mental health issues cannot do what Osaka did.

 

[MacMadame]

That is easier for someone of Osaka's privileged position to be able to pay the fines. A lower ranked player with similar mental health issues cannot do what Osaka did.

This is true but I still don't think that means she was asking for special treatment.

She also left the tournament rather than ask for special treatment.

Btw, if she chose to do that, I would think her social anxiety around the press conferences must be pretty severe and not some temper tantrum just because she doesn't like talking to the press. I assume she is getting treatment for her issues and hopefully, it will go well and she'll learn some coping techniques for dealing with them. And maybe also she can use her privilege to work for changes to the press conferences so they aren't so anxiety-inducing for others.

 

[Coco]

Which may be part of why she did it. To make things better for all.

 

[soogar]

The media and tournament promoters never learn a lesson; esp. dealing with young people! It was if they pushed Naomi out making such a "to do" about her skipping after-match interviews! It's a requirement, she was being fined, she was honest with why she was withholding, but "talking heads" can't help making it a bigger story than it needed to be! Now they come back with phony concern due to mental stability issues! "Ahhh, thanks, but no thanks idiot media!" I get more and more exercized over the years seeing how the MSM has degenerated into "thirsty wannabees" over actual reporters!

She's not that young and I honestly think there's something else going on with her. Doing press conferences is a huge part of being an athlete. Look at figure skating and how in the past few years they force competitors to sit on the side of the rink to get reactions. Before, skaters would go backstage and cool down. Now they have to deal with a camera in their face while their competitors skate. All this was done at NBC's request to make coverage more interesting. And skaters don't even make a fraction of what a tennis player makes, plus they are much younger as well. It's inexcusable what she had done and highly unprofessional that she uses social media to announce that she will not participate and doesn't even bother to talk to the officials beforehand.

 

[Sylvia]

NYT's tennis writer Christopher Clarey spoke to Martina Navratilova, among others, for his column:

A Shocking Exit and a Sad Day for Tennis (Published 2021)

Naomi Osaka, a superstar in the sport, pulled out of the French Open after she was fined for skipping a news conference. Did it have to end this way?

www.nytimes.com

"She tried to sidestep or lessen a problem for herself and instead she just made it much bigger than it was in the first place." [...]
"The bottom line is that this is about more than talking to the press, Navratilova said. This goes much deeper than that, and we have no way of knowing, not should we speculate, just how deep it does go."

Clarey wrote:

Given Osaka's prominence and the increased awareness of and sensitivity to athletes' mental-health challenges, it is hard to imagine that [French Tennis Federation president Gilles] Moretton or the other Grand Slam leaders would not have tried to work with her to find a more short-term conciliatory solution if they had been given a clearer picture.

 

[sk9tingfan]

Caty McNally had to withdraw from the competition with an injury, leaving Coco Gauff without a doubles partner. This is a shame due to the fact that McNally and Gauff have been doing so well on clay. However, she wound up with a partner via the signup list; none other than Venus Williams! It will be interesting to see how they do.

 

[Fiero425]

She's not that young and I honestly think there's something else going on with her. Doing press conferences is a huge part of being an athlete. Look at figure skating and how in the past few years they force competitors to sit on the side of the rink to get reactions. Before, skaters would go backstage and cool down. Now they have to deal with a camera in their face while their competitors skate. All this was done at NBC's request to make coverage more interesting. And skaters don't even make a fraction of what a tennis player makes, plus they are much younger as well. It's inexcusable what she had done and highly unprofessional that she uses social media to announce that she will not participate and doesn't even bother to talk to the officials beforehand.

That's all understood! Didn't I profile the whole freakin' mess? Both sides aware with a real lack of communication between them! I still call the media and promoters idiots! I don't care of her physical age, if she says she's having problems, accomodations need to be made! The result of everyone being "grown up" is we now have a top player LEAVING a major with a real potential to win; sorta like Nole getting DQ'd at the USO! The weight of the world is probably on Osaka and we have unthinking, unemotion drones telling her to "suck it up kid!" I'm one to walk away too and just give the finger to all concerned! Next day they'll be asking "what happened?" I already thought the game was just about unwatchable, now we have to deal with behind the scenes politics too? Pass!

 

[skatingguy]

That's all understood! Didn't I profile the whole freakin' mess? Both sides aware with a real lack of communication between them! I still call the media and promoters idiots! I don't care of her physical age, if she says she's having problems, accomodations need to be made! The result of everyone being "grown up" is we now have a top player LEAVING a major with a real potential to win; sorta like Nole getting DQ'd at the USO! The weight of the world is probably on Osaka and we have unthinking, unemotion drones telling her to "suck it up kid!" I'm one to walk away too and just give the finger to all concerned! Next day they'll be asking "what happened?" I already thought the game was just about unwatchable, now we have to deal with behind the scenes politics too? Pass!

Osaka didn't say she was having problems with anxiety about the press conferences until after she withdrew from the event. Her initial announcement was very general, and I'm paraphrasing here but something like 'players shouldn't have to answer questions from the press because of mental health'. It can inferred that she was speaking from personal experience, but it wasn't clear that she was talking about herself, and she didn't ask for any accommodations at the time.

At the time Osaka's original statement seemed like she was making a political statement about the difficulty players can encounter dealing with the press, and Osaka has had plenty of experience with that in the past few years. I don't think anyone said 'suck it up', but the rules were enforced which is what Osaka was expecting as she said she was prepared to pay the fines. It sounds like it would be for the best for Osaka to take some time away from the sport right now to address the anxiety issue.

 

[soogar]

That's all understood! Didn't I profile the whole freakin' mess? Both sides aware with a real lack of communication between them! I still call the media and promoters idiots! I don't care of her physical age, if she says she's having problems, accomodations need to be made! The result of everyone being "grown up" is we now have a top player LEAVING a major with a real potential to win; sorta like Nole getting DQ'd at the USO! The weight of the world is probably on Osaka and we have unthinking, unemotion drones telling her to "suck it up kid!" I'm one to walk away too and just give the finger to all concerned! Next day they'll be asking "what happened?" I already thought the game was just about unwatchable, now we have to deal with behind the scenes politics too? Pass!

I can't think of any professional who can just beg off having to go to meetings. Because, yes, that's exactly what she is doing. Her job as a tennis player is to play and to make appearances. She makes appearances for her sponsors, on television and on the court. She's getting paid a lot of money to appear on a court. I don't know her personal situation, but if she can't make a routine appearance at a press conference, perhaps she is just not fit to compete in a tournament. So if she won the event, can she ask the officials to award her trophy in private and not make a speech because she's too shy?

Really she sounds like a little kid that she cites repetitive questions and that she doesn't feel like answering the same question over and over. How does she even make appearances for her sponsors?

But she can quit the sport and not talk to anyone, and while she's at it, doesn't ever have to hold a job. I can't even imagine someone saying that they don't feel like attending company meetings because it's the same thing over and over. Every professional athlete has to do press. It's an important part of promotion and a reason why tennis prize money is so lucrative.

Which may be part of why she did it. To make things better for all.

Who appointed her savior? Tennis players have been doing press conferences for years, way before she was born. How come all of a sudden, they became so fragile that they can't sit for an hour and answer questions?

 

[allezfred]

Pretty disturbing reading some of the comments here. No wonder people with mental health issues find it so difficult to open up if the best they can get is to be told to suck it up.

 

[MacMadame]

Another article I came across.

Opinion | The Naomi Osaka controversy is about much more than sports

The backlash from tournament officials feels like a tone-deaf attempt to discipline tennis’s brightest young female star

www.msnbc.com

And, btw, I think attending a Press Conference is absolutely nothing like going to meetings for an office job especially these days when everything is on Zoom.

 

[Fiero425]

Osaka didn't say she was having problems with anxiety about the press conferences until after she withdrew from the event. Her initial announcement was very general, and I'm paraphrasing here but something like 'players shouldn't have to answer questions from the press because of mental health'. It can inferred that she was speaking from personal experience, but it wasn't clear that she was talking about herself, and she didn't ask for any accommodations at the time.

At the time Osaka's original statement seemed like she was making a political statement about the difficulty players can encounter dealing with the press, and Osaka has had plenty of experience with that in the past few years. I don't think anyone said 'suck it up', but the rules were enforced which is what Osaka was expecting as she said she was prepared to pay the fines. It sounds like it would be for the best for Osaka to take some time away from the sport right now to address the anxiety issue.

Why do we all need to know her "Tea??" Osaka should be able to keep something to herself without laying prostrate for the whole world to examine every nook and cranny of her person! I think it's rather pathetic that people, 'esp. in this country have to live vicariously thru the celebrities they follow! So far I've been able to resist jumping on that colossal bandwagon of abusing social media! I have NO Twitter acct. and never have had one! My cell doesn't even have lone internet access! The BIG connection I had with all this WWW media storming is/was having a Facebook Acct.! It was hacked last month, locked up, and I haven't bothered to bring it back to life! Their security has to be lame AF! I pray we don't lose another superstar to literal bullying by network!

 

[skatingguy]

Why do we all need to know her "Tea??" Osaka should be able to keep something to herself without laying prostrate for the whole world to examine every nook and cranny of her person! I think it's rather pathetic that people, 'esp. in this country have to live vicariously thru the celebrities they follow! So far I've been able to resist jumping on that colossal bandwagon of abusing social media! I have NO Twitter acct. and never have had one! My cell doesn't even have lone internet access! The BIG connection I had with all this WWW media storming is/was having a Facebook Acct.! It was hacked last month, locked up, and I haven't bothered to bring it back to life! Their security has to be lame AF! I pray we don't lose another superstar to literal bullying by network!

If Osaka had a physical ailment she would provide that info to the tournament, and request a tour medical trainer. I don't think there's an equivalent person for psychological issues, but maybe there should be.

 

[skipaway]

Venus Responds

“For me personally, how I cope, how I deal with it, was that I know every single person asking me a question can’t play as well as I can and never will,” the 40-year-old said. “So no matter what you say, or what you write, you’ll never light a candle to me.”

“That’s how I deal with it. But each person deals with it differently,” she added.

 

[Coco]

I don't know who remembers this, but one of Venus' early press conferences at the US Open was honestly quite harrowing. 1996, maybe? She was still a teenager and some reporters were going after her like they were marching to war. It was shameful for the press. I always wondered how that impacted her.

 

[Jenny]

Pretty disturbing reading some of the comments here. No wonder people with mental health issues find it so difficult to open up if the best they can get is to be told to suck it up.

I don't follow tennis and only have the basic details of what's happening here, but I have been very interested in the reactions to it. This is no comment on this player or her actions, but rather that as with anything, there will be people who find ways to take advantage.

It's so good that we are collectively recognizing that mental health issues are very real, that those who suffer can more openly seek help and support, and that as a society we are becoming more compassionate.

At the same time, there's a lot of self diagnosis going on, a lot of pushing the meaning of words like depression and anxiety, it even feels like fashion at times, like you have to talk about your struggles to be cool or prove that your job or home or whatever is more stressful than average.

Unfortunately this also leads to cynicism every time someone says they have mental health issues, and both the people using those terms and those questioning how real they are do a grave disservice to those who really are suffering or working through mental health issues.

It's also interesting to me that this topic, like others before it, is somewhat untouchable. If someone says they have mental health issues, or they are being bullied, or they have been sexually harassed, or are the victim of racism or other discrimination, or that they have considered suicide, or that they have PMS even, it's like no one is allowed to question that, it's just not done and the person saying any of this must be believed and anyone who questions it is a terrible person.

And yet, I'm sure we can all think of examples where people used this dynamic to their advantage, because I certainly can.

 

[millyskate]

As someone who has sat through a number of press conferences for a few sports, I have felt at times equally frustrated with the incredibly unimaginative, repetitive questions from journalists which justifiably annoy and even anger the athletes, and the athletes' and coaches' refusal to answer anything that is even vaguely uncomfortable or challenging to them.

I've been at one press conference where journalists attempted to ask some very important questions, politely but firmly, at a press conference and they were immediately shut down first by the federation in question's reps and then by the organisers. What emerged a few years later was one of the biggest ever sports scandals and could have been shortened if journalists had been allowed to do their job and coaches, in this instance, been held responsible for answering.

It's a broken system.

 

[MacMadame]

it even feels like fashion at times, like you have to talk about your struggles to be cool or prove that your job or home or whatever is more stressful than average.

And do you think that kids are calling themselves trans to be cool too?

Personally, I think your entire message shows how completely unacceptable it is to talk about your mental health issues in public because people find any excuse not to believe you.

 

[allezfred]

It's also interesting to me that this topic, like others before it, is somewhat untouchable. If someone says they have mental health issues, or they are being bullied, or they have been sexually harassed, or are the victim of racism or other discrimination, or that they have considered suicide, or that they have PMS even, it's like no one is allowed to question that, it's just not done and the person saying any of this must be believed and anyone who questions it is a terrible person.

If the first thought is to question whether someone has mental health issues (or are being bullied/sexually harassed/abused/discriminated against/feeling suicidal) when they do the incredibly difficult thing of opening up about these issues, then yes that makes for a terrible person.

 

[Coco]

I've been at one press conference where journalists attempted to ask some very important questions, politely but firmly, at a press conference and they were immediately shut down first by the federation in question's reps and then by the organisers. What emerged a few years later was one of the biggest ever sports scandals and could have been shortened if journalists had been allowed to do their job and coaches, in this instance, been held responsible for answering.

It's a broken system.

?????

It is the last place someone would open up, to be sure.

 

[MacMadame]

I've been at one press conference where journalists attempted to ask some very important questions, politely but firmly, at a press conference and they were immediately shut down first by the federation in question's reps and then by the organisers. What emerged a few years later was one of the biggest ever sports scandals and could have been shortened if journalists had been allowed to do their job and coaches, in this instance, been held responsible for answering.

Press conferences are not the place to do investigative journalism and that is not going to change. You may get a hint there is something you need to investigate from them but people aren't going to admit to wrongdoing when questioned like that.

So I don't see this as a problem with press conferences but a problem with sports journalists and sports journalism. They should be behaving more like journalists in other fields who would never stop looking regardless of what was said at a press conference.

 

[millyskate]

Press conferences are not the place to do investigative journalism and that is not going to change. You may get a hint there is something you need to investigate from them but people aren't going to admit to wrongdoing when questioned like that.

So I don't see this as a problem with press conferences but a problem with sports journalists and sports journalism. They should be behaving more like journalists in other fields who would never stop looking regardless of what was said at a press conference.

I this case it was about questioning the public mistreatment of a team member at said event by the team staff. It was very relevant to the event coverage IMO and the question was directed towards the staff, not the athletes.

 

[Jenny]

I agree that it's unlikely that media will get straight answers to tough questions in a press conference, and for that matter in a one-one interview either. Much of the time those engaged in wrong doing never fully admit to it, even in court.

But that's not always the point of asking tough questions in press conference. Unlike one-one interviews or solo investigations, it puts the question on record, with witnesses both in the room and well beyond, thus raising awareness of the issue among other media who might have their own pieces of the puzzle, and a much broader audience, putting it on the table as something that needs to be addressed, and letting others know that if they have information to share, someone wants to hear it.

 

[millyskate]

I agree that it's unlikely that media will get straight answers to tough questions in a press conference, and for that matter in a one-one interview either. Much of the time those engaged in wrong doing never fully admit to it, even in court.

But that's not always the point of asking tough questions in press conference. Unlike one-one interviews or solo investigations, it puts the question on record, with witnesses both in the room and well beyond, thus raising awareness of the issue among other media who might have their own pieces of the puzzle, and a much broader audience, putting it on the table as something that needs to be addressed, and letting others know that if they have information to share, someone wants to hear it.

Yes exactly. It’s about letting people know they’re on your radar. It is also about holding event organisers to account. In this case they could have been tougher with the fed in ensuring they followed protocol but chose not to because it was a powerful fed.

 

[miffy]

Caty McNally had to withdraw from the competition with an injury, leaving Coco Gauff without a doubles partner. This is a shame due to the fact that McNally and Gauff have been doing so well on clay. However, she wound up with a partner via the signup list; none other than Venus Williams! It will be interesting to see how they do.

Ohhh, I’ve always wondered how choosing doubles partners works! Does every event have a signup list and people join it if they haven’t already arranged a partner? How does it work? What if they hate the person that gets picked?
It must be even harder at the slams for finding a mixed doubles partner as there are so few events.