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Post by Admin on Jul 13, 2021 21:35:01 GMT
There can be moments for any of us where we are dealing with issues behind the scenes. Each of us as humans is going through something on some level. I have numerous suggestions to offer the tennis hierarchy, but my No. 1 suggestion would be to allow a small number of “sick days” per year where you are excused from your press commitments without having to disclose your personal reasons. I believe this would bring sport in line with the rest of society.
Finally, I want to thank everyone who supported me. There are too many to name, but I want to start with my family and friends, who have been amazing. There is nothing more important than those relationships. I also want to thank those in the public eye who have supported, encouraged and offered such kind words.
Michelle Obama, Michael Phelps, Steph Curry, Novak Djokovic, Meghan Markle, to name a few. Furthermore, I am eternally grateful to all my partners. Although I am not surprised as I purposefully chose brand partners that are liberal, empathetic and progressive, I am still tremendously thankful.
After taking the past few weeks to recharge and spend time with my loved ones, I have had the time to reflect, but also to look forward. I could not be more excited to play in Tokyo. An Olympic Games itself is special, but to have the opportunity to play in front of the Japanese fans is a dream come true. I hope I can make them proud.
Believe it or not, I am naturally introverted and do not court the spotlight. I always try to push myself to speak up for what I believe to be right, but that often comes at a cost of great anxiety. I feel uncomfortable being the spokesperson or face of athlete mental health as it’s still so new to me and I don’t have all the answers. I do hope that people can relate and understand it’s O.K. to not be O.K., and it’s O.K. to talk about it. There are people who can help, and there is usually light at the end of any tunnel.
Michael Phelps told me that by speaking up I may have saved a life. If that’s true, then it was all worth it.
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Post by Admin on Jul 14, 2021 5:08:28 GMT
“Hearst Magazines and Verizon Media may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.” Naomi Osaka can't stop and won't stop dominating the tennis court. Recently, the 23-year-old tennis star was named the best athlete in women's sports at the ESPYS and will soon be representing Japan at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. While Naomi continues to thrive, she looks to her boyfriend, 23-year-old rapper Cordae, for support off the court. Tennis fans likely caught a glimpse of Cordae at the 2020 U.S. Open posing with the Grand Slam champion. Like Naomi, the Suitland, Maryland rapper is also a major success in his industry. In 2019, he was nominated for two Grammys in the Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song categories. Previously, he was known as YBN Cordae for his involvement in YBN Collective. But since 2020, the group has disbanded and pursued solo endeavors. As for Cordae and Naomi's love story, the two told GQ that it all began when they exchanged phone numbers in 2019. Their first date was at an LA Clippers basketball game. Apparently, they had a hard time locating each other in the Staples Center, but when they did, Naomi thought it was "really cool how friendly and welcoming [Cordae] was with everyone" trying to take a picture with him. In the beginning, Cordae didn't follow tennis much and didn't know Naomi was such a big name in the sport. "I didn't even know who she was," he admitted to Ebro in the Morning. "I know Serena Williams. When you think about tennis, I just know Serena Williams." In the end, though, the couple saw their differences as an opportunity to expose each other to new things. Apart from their careers, they are proud supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement. While Naomi famously wore face masks at the U.S. Open bearing the names of Black Americans killed at the hands of police officers, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported that Cordae joined protestors last summer in a demonstration outside of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's home following the murder of Breonna Taylor.
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Post by Admin on Sept 4, 2021 5:09:43 GMT
Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open and skipped Wimbledon earlier this year, revealing she suffers from depression and social anxiety. In her first major since then, things did not go well for the defending U.S. Open champion.
She took the first set and then the usually stoic Osaka lost her composure, repeatedly giving up points and slamming her racket on the ground. While Osaka did not receive a warning from the chair umpire, she did lose the set. With the match tied 1-1, Osaka walked off the court, towel draped over her head to gather herself.
She returned and double faulted to start the third set. Her opponent, 18-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez, who was ranked 73rd in the world before the match, kept the pressure on Osaka.
After tying the match at one set apiece, the crowd seemed to get behind Fernandez and the cheers grew for her. With the score 5-4 in the third set, Osaka stepped off the baseline, taking a long moment of time to compose herself again. For the first time, the crowd booed.
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Post by Admin on Sept 5, 2021 4:38:04 GMT
After an emotionally fraught upset loss ended her U.S. Open title defense Friday night, a teary-eyed Naomi Osaka said she will be taking a break from tennis. How long that break will be, even Osaka doesn’t know. Teenager Leylah Fernandez rattled Osaka and stormed back for a 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4 win that included a meltdown from the defending champ. Osaka, during a second-set tiebreak, tossed her racquet three times, then left the court to compose herself. The 18-year-old Fernandez’s victory was the biggest stunner of the tournament — until Osaka dropped her postmatch bombshell. “Basically, I feel like I’m at this point where I’m trying to figure out what I want to do, and I honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match,” said Osaka, her eyes welling up as she ended her postmatch interview. This was Osaka’s first major since she pulled out of the French Open this spring and skipped Wimbledon in July, due to mental health issues. Now, she could be taking another break. Naomi Osaka sits with a towel over her head during a break in her 2021 U.S. Open third-round match against Canada's Leylah Fernandez at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021.
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Post by Admin on Sept 6, 2021 20:29:43 GMT
Golfer Rory McIlroy voiced his support for tennis star Naomi Osaka following her decision to take a break for the sport, saying he could relate to what his fellow athlete is going through. After falling to teenager Leylah Fernandez in the third round of the US Open on Friday, Osaka said winning didn’t bring her happiness, only relief, and losing made her feel “very” sad. “I spoke about this in 2019 about separating who I am as a golfer and who I am as a person and trying to not let that define me,” McIlroy, the four-time major winner, said after his 14th place finish at the Tour Championship. “It seems what Naomi is going through at the minute is that same thing. How can I play tennis and enjoy it and not let the results define who I am … I think everyone just needs to let her have time to figure that out.” The 32-year-old McIlroy is the latest athlete to show support for Osaka, joining tennis greats Billie Jean King and Boris Becker, as well as former American sprinter Michael Johnson. “She seems like a really smart girl, and hopefully she’ll be able to do it and come back and start enjoying the game just like when she picked the racket up when she was a little girl,” McIlroy said. The 23-year-old Osaka, who has taken breaks from tennis recently, citing her mental health, said she she didn’t know when she would play her next tennis match.
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