"Naomi Osaka could learn a lot from Maria Sharapova"
Marion Bartoli , Carole Bouchard and Simon Cambers - as part of the tennis majors' panel of experts - discussed Naomi Osaka's current difficult situation and how the Japanese could learn from other greats in the sport.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Sep 25, 2021, 08:31 pm
It wasn't long after Naomi Osaka's bitter end at the US Open, the defeat against the young Canadian Leylah Fernandez, when the Japanese woman already declared that she would probably want to take a longer break from the sport. Words, which the four-time Grand Slam winner will now obviously follow with action, for the WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells, the current number one in the women's tennis world has already canceled. There are a number of question marks hovering over a return in the calendar year 2021. At least.
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After Osaka's announcement that he wanted to skip the press conferences at the French Open, the withdrawal from the major a few days later and her declaration that she was struggling with psychological problems, the waves around the young exceptional talent should not calm down. But on the contrary. Apparently struggling with the great pressure, it suffered an early, bitter defeat at the home Olympic Games in Tokyo. Even at the US Open - where Osaka was able to celebrate their first major title - the hoped-for liberation failed.
Sharapova as a role model?
The big question? How can the Japanese manage to find her way back to her old strength and, above all, recklessness? Osaka would now be well advised to seek the advice of other female athletes who have faced similar situations in the course of their careers, said journalist Carole Bouchard in a discussion with tennis majors: from the Russian Maria Sharapova, for example, who did it would have managed to cope well with the great popularity.
Bouchard is convinced that Osaka could learn a lot from the Russian: "How to be a business woman, but also how to take your fate into your own hands, how to say no to a photo shoot when you don't have a say - Maria has herself really dealt with it: "I'm not going to be that pretty thing that everyone does a photo shoot about and about which they have nothing to say," explained the journalist. "She really dominates what happens around her."
Bartoli sees pressure as the main factor
"I think Naomi may have the feeling that she is losing control of what is happening around her because she doesn't have the power. And I really believe that you can learn a lot from Maria Sharapova," said the Frenchwoman. Marion Bartoli, however, said that it was the great pressure that inhibited the Japanese: "When you represent so much, when you are the face of so many brands and very respected brands, you naturally have the feeling that every time you Entering a place can only win in order to be happy. "
Osaka herself had emphasized that it was more relieved to win a game than to be satisfied with what had been achieved: "And not even happy. As she says, it was more of a relief when she wins because she feels like someone or to let a brand down if it doesn't win, "said Bartoli. At the moment it seems highly unlikely that Osaka will return to the WTA tour in 2021, the Japanese at least seems firmly convinced that she will take the time to deal with her problems. There is also no lack of advice from outside.