Naomi Osaka's Olympic campaign gets delayed following postponement of Round 1 match

Japan's top tennis star Naomi Osaka's return to the tennis court was delayed by a day after the news about her first-round match being shifted from Saturday to Sunday. The second seed was returning to the court after withdrawing from the French Open following the first round to take a mental health break. Osaka was scheduled to take on 52nd-ranked Zheng Saisai of China in the opening round of the Tokyo Olympics tennis tournament. Naomi Osaka holds a 2-1  head to head reord over her firt round opponent

Naomi Osaka match reschedule at Tokyo Olympics

According to AP report  Organizers did not immediately provide a reason for the switch and just said that the move came from the tournament referee. One reason for the move could be that Osaka might have a role in the opening ceremony Friday night. That wouldn’t leave her much time to rest before a Saturday morning match.

The news about Osaka being the flag bearer for the country is yet to be made official. However, there are chances of carrying the flag at the opening ceremony as she represents a more modern and diverse Japan and is a voice supporting racial and gender equality in a ceremony where many countries are promoting athletes with a message of diversity.

Naomi Osaka ready to face press conference at Tokyo Olympics 

Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, Naomi Osaka revealed that she is ready to face the press in what can be called a u-turn after her refusal to do so in earlier tournaments. In an interview with Japanese broadcaster NHK however, Osaka said "I am preparing myself little by little so I can be at the top of my game for the Olympics. Since getting the attention of the world, I've always had bouts of anxiety. This is especially the case in the lead up to big competitions". 

Osaka had earlier posted a statement on Twitter, saying that she had "suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and that it was better to exercise self-care and skip the press conferences because she gets huge waves of anxiety before. The 23-year-old who is a medal contender for her country at the event was earlier willing to be fined by Roland Garros officials for not showing up to press conferences. The tennis star was fined $15,000 and threatened with disqualification from Roland Garros after refusing to honour mandatory media commitments.

Image: #Tokyo2020/ Twitter