AROUND THE TOUR
Naomi Osaka's press conference boycott continues to hog media spotlight
Once again, tennis has seeped into the zeitgeist due to a conflict off-court rather than on.
This time around, the point of contentious debate is the decision by Naomi Osaka to boycott press conferences at Roland Garros this year. Here’s a portion of her explanation from Twitter:
“I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one. We’re often sat there and asked questions that we’ve been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I’m just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me.”
Now, rather than this issue, I wish media outlets paid more attention to Petra Kvitova’s heroic comeback, or Carla Suarez Navarro’s return to play after Hodkin’s lymphoma, but I don’t make the rules.
On Sunday, the French Tennis Federation released a joint statement with the other grand slam bodies. It stated that Osaka will be fined $15,000 for her absence at that day’s press event.
Furthermore, the grand slams said that if “she [continues] to ignore her media obligations during the tournament, she would be exposing herself to possible further Code of Conduct infringement consequences...including default.”
The breadth of reactions to her move has taken me by surprise, but then she is a unique figure.
In tennis terms, Naomi Osaka is world no.2 (previously no.1), a four-time major winner and has earned almost $20 million in prize money. Off court, the 23-year-old is a prominent woman of African-American/Asian descent, Japanese icon, fascinating personality and sponsorship phenomenon.
She is a figure that transcends tennis and a fantastic asset for the game. However, I don’t agree with her choice here.
The source of the most abusive and appalling comments continues to be social media. Many messages sent to sportswomen in particular on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are vile and unacceptable. They should be eradicated entirely, but there doesn’t seem to be enough will to change things.
(I would suggest that everyone registered with Twitter has to provide ID on signup. Or maybe it should just be a paid service?)
As for press conferences, while they can feature pointless and offensive questions, they are controlled environments. Journalists are given accreditation and a PR person manages the back and forth. If you want better questions, have better journalists in the room.
Despite the pain of rationalising defeat and tedium, players are obligated to attend conferences to publicise the sport. As Rafael Nadal pointed out:
“I understand her, but in the other hand, for me, I mean, without the press, without the people who normally are travelling who are writing the news and achievements that we are having around the world, probably we will not be the athletes that we are today. We’re not gonna have the recognition that we have around the world, and we will not be that popular, no?”
Like doping tests, press conferences are an unpopular but necessary part of a professional tennis player’s life. That’s not to say that the experience can’t be improved, or more allowance made for mental health concerns.
With that said, the current situation pitting the grand slams against one of the sport’s household names needs to end. The distractions, for Osaka and the majors, are detrimental to tennis’s image and detract from the actual play.
Let’s hope that the parties can come to some agreement behind the scenes, or if Osaka concedes, little energy is spent on schadenfreude.
RESULTS
ROLAND GARROS
We’ve only had a day in Paris but there were some shocks.
After leading by two sets, two-time finalist Dominic Thiem exited to Pablo Andujar 6-4 7-5 3-6 4-6 4-6 in almost four and a half hours.
The Austrian is still struggling for confidence after a prolonged absence earlier in the season. His power, movement and decision-making were all subpar. Let’s hope he can find some form in the coming months.
As for Andujar, the 35-year-old can now boast of victories over Thiem and Roger Federer in the space of a few weeks. Quite a sport, tennis!
Other seeds to fall on Sunday included Grigor Dimitrov (retired), Hubert Hurkacz, Dan Evans and Angelique Kerber.
BELGRADE | ATP 250
It wasn’t a massive surprise to see Novak Djokovic claim title no.83 at his own tennis centre.
The world no.1 beat compatriot Alex Molcan 6-4 6-3 in the final and gained some extra confidence ahead of his latest assault on Nadal’s Roland Garros throne.
STRASBOURG | ATP 250
This final was a battle between two players who could cause trouble in Roland Garros.
After a runner-up performance in Dubai, Barbora Krejcikova finally captured her first WTA title with a straight sets win over Sorana Cirstea.
The hard-hitting Czech is best known for her doubles prowess as a former world no.1. But she’s making great strides in singles this season and is up to a career high of 33.
BELGRADE | ATP 250
It was a very impressive week for 20-year-old Sebastian Korda as he clinched his first ATP title.
The American did not drop a set all week and won the final with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Marco Cecchinato.
Korda, son of former player Petr, moves up to a career high ranking of 50.
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