Springfield News-Sun

Naomi Osaka: ‘I think I’m OK’

- By Howard Fendrich

PARIS — Naomi Osaka cracked jokes at Roland Garros on Friday — and, yes, laughed at those jokes. She smiled after some reporters’ questions. She paused to contemplat­e, as is her wont, before offering answers.

All of which seemed to confirm this assessment that she offered during an 18-minute pre-tournament French Open news conference, one year after she declared she would avoid talking to the press and then withdrew before the second round: “For the most part, I think I’m OK.”

Osaka used those words at the conclusion of a lengthy and thoughtful reply about what it was like to come back to a place where her last trip was so much more about her well-being and off-court mindset than her tennis. Which is saying something when the subject is a player who already owns four Grand Slam titles and has been ranked No. 1.

“I’m not going to lie. When I first came here, I was very worried. I was just kind of worried if there would be people that -- of course, I also didn’t like how I handled the situation — but I was worried that there were people that I offended some way, and I would just kind of bump into them,” Osaka said Friday, her eyes darting around the room, her words separated by the occasional pause. “But I think everyone has been really positive, for the most part. I’m not really so sure. I was also very worried about this press conference, because I knew I’d get a lot of questions about this.”

Continuing, Osaka said: “For me, where I am right now, I wouldn’t want to say — it hasn’t left my mind. Of course, I’m still thinking about it.”

Before the 2021 French Open, Osaka vowed to not “do any press during Roland Garros,” framing the matter as a mental health issue, saying it can create self-doubt to have to answer questions after a loss. She stuck to that stance, skipping the tournament’s media day — which is what Friday’s setting was — and her mandatory news conference after winning in the first round, which drew a $15,000 fine. Osaka also was threatened by all four Grand Slam tournament­s of possible additional punishment, including disqualifi­cation or suspension.

She responded by pulling out of Roland Garros, explaining that she experience­s “huge waves of anxiety” before speaking to the media and revealing she has “suffered long bouts of depression,” helping make such comments more common among athletes, not to mention society at large.

Osaka also sat out Wimbledon and, later in the season, took another mental health break after losing at the U.S. Open.

She returned to the Grand Slam stage in January at the Australian Open, where was the reigning champion.

Osaka lost in the third round there to Amanda Anisimova, a 20-year-old American who just so happens to be Osaka’s first opponent in Paris.

Her ranking has fallen to No. 38, mostly because of a lack of action, and her preparatio­n for the French Open was hardly ideal: Osaka withdrew from the clay-court tournament in Rome this month because of a lingering injury to her left Achilles heel.

Bowness won’t return as coach of Dallas Stars

Rick Bowness will not return as head coach of the Dallas Stars after nearly three seasons in which he led them to the Stanley Cup Final and the playoffs again this season.

While Bowness was not under contract past this season, the 67-year-old coach said in a statement released by the team Friday that he was stepping away to “allow the organizati­on the opportunit­y to pursue a different direction at the head coaching position.”

Rick Bowness has been on an NHL bench for a record 2,562 regular-season games as a head coach or an assistant over nearly four decades.

Tillman switching from Germany to U.S. squad

Bayern Munich midfielder Malik Tillman is switching affiliatio­n from Germany to the United States and is among 27 players invited to the Americans’ next-to-last training camp ahead of the World Cup.

Haji Wright, a 24-yearold forward from Los Angeles who is on a scoring run in the Turkish league, also is among the players who could make their U.S. debuts along with Borussia Mönchengla­dbach outside back Joe Scally, who was on the roster for November World Cup qualifiers but did not get in a match.

 ?? AP ?? Naomi Osaka of Japan plays a forehand during a singles match against Andrea Petkovic of Germany Jan. 7. Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion who helped spark a conversati­on about athletes’ mental health when she pulled out of last year’s French Open and revealed that she has dealt with anxiety and depression.
AP Naomi Osaka of Japan plays a forehand during a singles match against Andrea Petkovic of Germany Jan. 7. Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion who helped spark a conversati­on about athletes’ mental health when she pulled out of last year’s French Open and revealed that she has dealt with anxiety and depression.

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