CINCINNATI – Four-time Grand Slam tennis champ Naomi Osaka was reduced to tears when she was posed an aggressive question by a reporter prior to the Western & Southern tennis event in southwest Ohio.
The Cincinnati Enquirer scribe wanted to know how Osaka can reconcile avoiding press conferences for the past several months while benefiting financially from the media exposure that has led to major endorsements.
The reporter, Paul Daugherty, asked Osaka, “You’re not crazy about dealing with us … yet you have a lot of outside interests that are served by having a media platform.” He then asked, “how do you balance the two?”
“That’s interesting,” Osaka said while asking clarification on what Daugherty meant by “I’m not crazy about dealing with you guys.”
“I would say the occasion, like when to do the press conference is what I feel is the most difficult,” Osaka continued after a pregnant pause.
“I’m actually very interested in that point of view. For me I feel like this is something that I can’t really speak for everybody, I can only speak for myself. But ever since I was younger, I’ve had a lot of media interest on me, and I think it’s because of my background as well as how I play.
“But I would also say, I’m not really sure how to balance it too, I’m figuring it out at the same time as you are, I would say.”
She returns to press ahead of @CincyTennis. @naomiosaka | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/445cxg6GUt
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) August 16, 2021
Naomi left the press conference but later returned to address the media.
Her agent, Stuart Duguid, slammed Daugherty as a “bully.” Flip the page to view his statement.
