Naomi Osaka says she’s taking a break from tennis

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish her well but I also wish she’d just stop playing until she’s ready to keep it together and compete again at a high level. It’s a rip-off for tennis spectators to pay hundreds of dollars for good seats and then have to watch a talented player worth tens of millions pout, act like a child, and check out of a match.

Athletes are doing a job and they are not actually there for your entertainment

What a crock of bullshit. Pro athletes are getting paid millions to entertain the people who buy tickets to see them perform or are willing to buy services or products endorsed by those athletes.

If you want to strip it down to competition for the mere sake of competition, fine, but then the ticket sales and sponsorships will dry up. And it will make it that much harder for the pro tennis players who aren't in the top 150 to eke out a living.

No one really wants to find it painful to watch a tennis match when a player is constantly on the verge of losing it mentally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you look at her overall wealth, very little of that comes from prize money from tennis. She has a very lucrative deal with Nike and many other endorsements and partnerships.

That's part of her problem. She let the endorsements and partnership distract her and convince her she's above accountability.

I disagree with the bolded. I think we're witnessing a mental health breakdown, and I think with that she's losing the ability to show up and perform in the way she is expected. I don't think she's choosing to do this to herself or has told herself that she doesent have any respnisibliy. She made the right decisiont to take some time away from the sport.

Thank you for making this point. If you watched the press conference after the US Open loss, she was really struggling with her emotions and feelings. She was actually articulating her thoughts regarding her mental health in real time in front of millions of people. And, pulling her visor down and crying was the part of her having a breakdown. It is unfortunate she did not announce a break from tennis after the French Open. I don't necessarily blame Naomi, I blame the people who are or are not advising her. She needs to step away and tend to her mental health and not return until she is fully capable of playing at the level she once did or retire from the sport and focus on her health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like no one is protecting this girl.

She’s 23. A woman.

She’s a young woman. There is nothing wrong with describing a young woman as a girl.

Yes, there is. It is inappropriate and condescending. Maybe not quite misogynistic, but heading down that path.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like no one is protecting this girl.

She’s 23. A woman.

She’s a young woman. There is nothing wrong with describing a young woman as a girl.

Yes, there is. It is inappropriate and condescending. Maybe not quite misogynistic, but heading down that path.

+1. Stop calling women girls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish her well but I also wish she’d just stop playing until she’s ready to keep it together and compete again at a high level. It’s a rip-off for tennis spectators to pay hundreds of dollars for good seats and then have to watch a talented player worth tens of millions pout, act like a child, and check out of a match.

Right- just like Macenroe, Agassi, Djokovich, Kyrgios....and so forth should have all done the same. Go away mysoginist.

You're an idiot. Although Krygios is a good example of a male player that people no longer want to watch because he's such an unpredictable head case.

McEnroe, Agassi, and Djokovic (congratulations that you were able to spell one of them right) are more like Serena Williams - intense competitors whose outbursts are tolerated because they fight so hard to win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish her well but I also wish she’d just stop playing until she’s ready to keep it together and compete again at a high level. It’s a rip-off for tennis spectators to pay hundreds of dollars for good seats and then have to watch a talented player worth tens of millions pout, act like a child, and check out of a match.

Athletes are doing a job and they are not actually there for your entertainment

Actually, entertainment is exactly what sports at this level are. Why do you think stadiums are filled with spectators and broadcasters compete for the television rights? It’s entertainment and a lot of money is made from that entertainment.

They don’t owe you anything FFS.

She owes anyone that paid to go to that match. If you are paid to do something - it’s called a job and you are accountable. I love how people thinks she can do whatever she wants and be paid millions. She isn’t a brain surgeon. Why should she be paid millions?

That's because there are a lot of whiny babies on DCUM who've had things handed to them on a silver platter all their lives, so the idea that someone would get paid millions but not be accountable for performing well doesn't seem odd to them in the slightest. Just keep writing those checks, mom and dad!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you look at her overall wealth, very little of that comes from prize money from tennis. She has a very lucrative deal with Nike and many other endorsements and partnerships.

That's part of her problem. She let the endorsements and partnership distract her and convince her she's above accountability.

I disagree with the bolded. I think we're witnessing a mental health breakdown, and I think with that she's losing the ability to show up and perform in the way she is expected. I don't think she's choosing to do this to herself or has told herself that she doesent have any respnisibliy. She made the right decisiont to take some time away from the sport.

Thank you for making this point. If you watched the press conference after the US Open loss, she was really struggling with her emotions and feelings. She was actually articulating her thoughts regarding her mental health in real time in front of millions of people. And, pulling her visor down and crying was the part of her having a breakdown. It is unfortunate she did not announce a break from tennis after the French Open. I don't necessarily blame Naomi, I blame the people who are or are not advising her. She needs to step away and tend to her mental health and not return until she is fully capable of playing at the level she once did or retire from the sport and focus on her health.

+100 to the bolded. And this after-match interview was not the first time she's cried and pulled her visor down to cover her eyes. I watched her Netflix special and I've heard her talk about her familiy in interviews. Her parents appear to be loving and supportive and she seems close with her sister. But I can't help but wonder, what have they been saying to her? And her trainers and coaches, what are they saying to her? She seemed so alone, fragile, and vulnerable in that interview yesterday. And someone off to the side even tried to end it when it looked like she was frozen with fear, but she said she wanted to finish her though which is when she made the annoucment about taking some time away. It was as if she made that deicsion by herself right in that moment. I can't help but feel her "team" has really dropped the ball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like no one is protecting this girl.

She’s 23. A woman.

She’s a young woman. There is nothing wrong with describing a young woman as a girl.

Yes, there is. It is inappropriate and condescending. Maybe not quite misogynistic, but heading down that path.

+1. Stop calling women girls.

From Meriam Webster:
Definition of girl
1a: a female child from birth to adulthood
b: DAUGHTER
c: a young woman
dsometimes offensive : a single or married woman of any age

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you look at her overall wealth, very little of that comes from prize money from tennis. She has a very lucrative deal with Nike and many other endorsements and partnerships.

That's part of her problem. She let the endorsements and partnership distract her and convince her she's above accountability.

I disagree with the bolded. I think we're witnessing a mental health breakdown, and I think with that she's losing the ability to show up and perform in the way she is expected. I don't think she's choosing to do this to herself or has told herself that she doesent have any respnisibliy. She made the right decisiont to take some time away from the sport.

Thank you for making this point. If you watched the press conference after the US Open loss, she was really struggling with her emotions and feelings. She was actually articulating her thoughts regarding her mental health in real time in front of millions of people. And, pulling her visor down and crying was the part of her having a breakdown. It is unfortunate she did not announce a break from tennis after the French Open. I don't necessarily blame Naomi, I blame the people who are or are not advising her. She needs to step away and tend to her mental health and not return until she is fully capable of playing at the level she once did or retire from the sport and focus on her health.

+100 to the bolded. And this after-match interview was not the first time she's cried and pulled her visor down to cover her eyes. I watched her Netflix special and I've heard her talk about her familiy in interviews. Her parents appear to be loving and supportive and she seems close with her sister. But I can't help but wonder, what have they been saying to her? And her trainers and coaches, what are they saying to her? She seemed so alone, fragile, and vulnerable in that interview yesterday. And someone off to the side even tried to end it when it looked like she was frozen with fear, but she said she wanted to finish her though which is when she made the annoucment about taking some time away. It was as if she made that deicsion by herself right in that moment. I can't help but feel her "team" has really dropped the ball.

The problem with a "team" is that they are conflicted -- they all have an interest in her continuing with tennis, otherwise there goes their meal ticket. So not sure if she's getting good advice from anyone who cares about Naomi Osaka as a person, and not just Naomi Osaka the tennis player whose coattails we all want to ride to the top.

[Anonymous]

She's clearly a flash in the pan wash up.

Just like Andy Roddick was 16 to 18 years ago. Nobody made it some huge deal when Roddick's career quickly fizzled out but with this annoying spoiled brat we all have to coddle her, make it some huge production, change rules, and whip up a dramatic mental health awareness infomercial to scapegoat a loss of fire/talent. There is a flash in the pan male golfer on the PGA Tour literally every 12 to 24 months. I'm tired of hearing about this woman. She's a washed up attention-craving phony.

[Anonymous]

She got rich and famous and got lost in the sauce. Many such cases.

Worth noting her career has done nothing but decline from her Jan. 2019 peak ever since she began dating a rapper in 2019. I suspect her discipline-style parents controlled all of her life prior to the rapper coming into the picture. After the rapper she's independent, she can do what she wants, her training and regimen takes a backseat.

Well, now she's an independent loser.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She's clearly a flash in the pan wash up.

Just like Andy Roddick was 16 to 18 years ago. Nobody made it some huge deal when Roddick's career quickly fizzled out but with this annoying spoiled brat we all have to coddle her, make it some huge production, change rules, and whip up a dramatic mental health awareness infomercial to scapegoat a loss of fire/talent. There is a flash in the pan male golfer on the PGA Tour literally every 12 to 24 months. I'm tired of hearing about this woman. She's a washed up attention-craving phony.

You saw the title, nobody forced you to open and read this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like no one is protecting this girl.

She’s 23. A woman.

She’s a young woman. There is nothing wrong with describing a young woman as a girl.

Yes, there is. It is inappropriate and condescending. Maybe not quite misogynistic, but heading down that path.

+1. Stop calling women girls.

From Meriam Webster:
Definition of girl
1a: a female child from birth to adulthood
b: DAUGHTER
c: a young woman
dsometimes offensive : a single or married woman of any age

Yes, definitely offensive to many young women. It is a way of discounting them and treating them as children rather than as adults. Handy rule of thumb, if you would not refer to a young man as a boy, don’t refer to young women as girls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She's clearly a flash in the pan wash up.

Just like Andy Roddick was 16 to 18 years ago. Nobody made it some huge deal when Roddick's career quickly fizzled out but with this annoying spoiled brat we all have to coddle her, make it some huge production, change rules, and whip up a dramatic mental health awareness infomercial to scapegoat a loss of fire/talent. There is a flash in the pan male golfer on the PGA Tour literally every 12 to 24 months. I'm tired of hearing about this woman. She's a washed up attention-craving phony.

You saw the title, nobody forced you to open and read this thread.

I don't think you can call anyone who has won four major titles and then some in a short amount of time a flash in the pan.

I wonder how much of the pressure to come back quickly is related to how the rankings system works as well as endorsement contracts and feeling obligated to sponsors.

Mental illness is so tough. If this were a torn ligament or something, there would be lots of experts explaining how much time off she would need. It is probably difficult for her to know until she gets back in a tournament whether or not she is ready.

I think she is a tremendous talent on the court and off the court, has gone out of her way to be very candid about her struggles. I wish her well and hope she can find her way back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She got rich and famous and got lost in the sauce. Many such cases.

Worth noting her career has done nothing but decline from her Jan. 2019 peak ever since she began dating a rapper in 2019. I suspect her discipline-style parents controlled all of her life prior to the rapper coming into the picture. After the rapper she's independent, she can do what she wants, her training and regimen takes a backseat.

Well, now she's an independent loser.

Huh? What's the rapper got to do with this? There has been nothing said in the press about his influence on her. He seems supportive of Naomi.