Naomi Osaka‘s decision to boycott the media has backfired, it has been claimed by former Olympian Jarko Nieminen. Osaka opted out of all her press conferences at this year’s French Open before withdrawing from the event following the backlash she received over the move. And former Finnish tennis player Nieminen, who played in three Olympics, has questioned whether the decision was the best thing for Osaka’s career.
The Japanese star has not played since withdrawing from Roland Garros and returns to action in the women’s singles at her home Olympics on Sunday.
But her decision to boycott press conferences at the French Open resulted in a backlash from some corners.
And Nieminen is one of those to question the move.
“If you are a top athlete in a global sport, press conferences are part of the package,” he told Tennis365.
“All the players respect that they get paid from playing and they need the media to promote it.”
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Former Olympic bronze medalist Alex Coretja agreed with Nieminen but says that it is important not to push her.
He said: “We need to give her time and not push her because she needs this room to feel better again.
“This has been a very difficult story and maybe it will help other players to bring forward what their feelings are.
“Life has so many issues and for Naomi, I was surprised because she always looked so happy, but she was suffering.
“This can happen to anyone. It is very difficult to teach people to deal with these things.
“You are playing for yourself and millions of people back home. That is not so easy to deal with for some people.”
Osaka lit the Olympic torch during the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday and is expected to be a major contender to win Gold at this year’s event.
She faces Saisai Zheng in the first round on Sunday.
