Naomi Osaka says she felt 'ungrateful' towards tennis over the past year

Japan tennis star Naomi Osaka brought an end to her media boycott decision with a tearful press conference at the ongoing Cincinnati Masters. Osaka thinks the Covid-19 pandemic might also have been a factor in her mental health issues and says recent world events have given her a fresh perspective. In her latest interaction with the media following her win over Coco Gauff, the former US Open champion said that she felt "ungrateful" at points during the last year for being unable to appreciate her success. 

Naomi Osaka mental health issue 

Osaka had pulled out of this year's Wimbledon championship to take a break from tennis, having experienced anxiety and depression. She returned back to take part in Tokyo Olympics where she lit the Olympics flame at the opening ceremony however her stay was short-lived as she made an exit in the third round. 

During the interaction with the media at the Cincinnati Masters Osaka opened up about her decision to withdraw from this year's French Open. On the eve of the 2021 French Open, the 23-year-old claimed that certain post-match inquests were akin to “kicking people when they are down” and that they had a detrimental effect on her mental health. The tennis sensation then stated that she would boycott her media duties at Roland Garros.

While speaking to the media she said, "I wonder what affected me... made me not want to do media?". I'm wondering if I was scared because sometimes I would see headlines of players losing and then the headline the next day would be like 'a collapse' or 'they're not that great anymore."

She added,"The choice to go out there and play, to go see fans, the people that are coming out and watching you play, that itself is an accomplishment and I'm not sure when along the way I started desensitising that. It started not being an accomplishment for me so I felt like I was very ungrateful on that fact". Osaka returned to play at her home Olympics in Tokyo, where she lit the flame at the opening ceremony before going on to lose in the third round.

Naomi Osaka vs Coco Gauff 

On Wednesday Osaka came from a set and a break down to beat 17-year-old Gauff 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the second round. The Japanese player, who finished runner-up at the event when it was held in New York last season, needed nearly two hours to pull off the three-set win and move into the Round of 16, taking a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head in the process.

The World No.2 and Gauff had faced off twice before, with Osaka easing past Gauff at the 2019 US Open before Gauff got revenge at the next major, the 2020 Australian Open. This was the first time they contested a decisive third set, with Osaka's service clicking in the decider.

After winning the second set from a 1-3 deficit, Osaka took charge in the first game of the final set. Gauff had two game points there, but Osaka amped up the pressure on return, sealing four points in a row to break. Osaka was not challenged on serve in the remainder of the match, as she dropped only a single point on serve in the third set. Osaka will face wildcard Jil Teichmann of Switzerland in the Round of 16