Naomi Osaka breaks down in emotional press conference
The world's number one tennis player Naomi Osaka has broken down in tears after a shock defeat to France’s Kristina Mladenovic in the first round at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Osaka, who recently parted ways with coach Sascha Bajin, lost 6-3 6-3 to Mladenovic in the tour’s opening round on Tuesday. The match ended in just over an hour after the US Open and Australian Open champion made 25 unforced errors.
In the post-match press conference, Osaka said increasing media exposure, as well as scrutiny over her split with Bajin. contributed to her emotional state at the match.
"This match is the result of that," Osaka said of her coaching intrigue.
"I'm pretty sure as time goes on you guys will stop talking about it. For now, it's like the biggest tennis news, I guess.
"See, it's a little bit hard because I feel like people are staring at me, and not in a good way."
The 21-year-old said she found the spotlight "a little tough" as she "doesn’t really like attention".
She added, "I don't think I necessarily understand what position I'm in, in a way.
"Because last year, I wasn't even anywhere close to this ranking and people didn't pay attention to me. That's something that I'm comfortable with."
At this point, she was sent to tears. "I don't know why I'm crying," she said. "I don't know why this is happening."
Osaka rose to the top rank after winning titles at the 2018 US Open and the Australian Open in January, becoming the world's first Asian player to earn the world’s number one spot. She also won the Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year on Monday.
"I played pretty bad, you have days like that," Osaka said.
"But even if I don't win any matches for the rest of the year, I wouldn't say I'm concerned. I think I'm pretty young. I still feel like I have a lot to learn."