There is a piece from the Esquire article that maybe could seem unusual for those who haven’t followed Naomi’s career since she was a baby, but, in my opinion, it’s vital to understanding her choice from an emotional standpoint. Osaka wrote: “I decided it was time to speak up. So what I will say here, I never would have imagined writing two years ago, when I won the US Open and my life changed overnight. I guess that when I read this piece back in the future, my evolution as a person will have continued. But for the here and now, this is who I am, and here are my thoughts.”
This passage, I think, is in a certain way the pre-emptive retort to anybody who would harshly underline the difference between 2017-18 Osaka and the current one. Naomi mainly thought back to how she was when she began to win first WTA titles. For example, her speech following the Indian Wells final, in 2018, shocked many observers who said she seemed “absent-minded”:
Personally, I didn’t agree with that assessment, and I said that her dreaminess was just apparent. I started following her press conferences for quite some time and I noticed that Osaka was far from being dumb.
That behaviour, during the award ceremony, meant something different. First, it showcased her ironic side (and to be like that you have to be a smart girl). Yet, at the same time she was far from the typical trophy-time routine. People like us, addicted to tennis, have heard a lot of speeches during award ceremonies and we know that they are always pretty much the same, 99% of the time. We could repeat one of them right now, and attribute to a player of our own choice: compliments to the opponent, thanks to your team, sponsors, organizers, and ball boys, only to conclude that he or she will return next year with great pleasure. Play, speak, repeat.
I don’t say that the players should be blamed for their insipid speech-making, it’s just part of their job. Obviously, that’s not true for Osaka, though, for she takes these aspects of her job personally. Award ceremonies, but also press conferences. Again, avoiding the clichés and stereotypes.
These are the words I wrote after she won the 2019 Australian Open: “I think that Osaka’s press conferences are special because, even if she is a Slam winner, she continues to eschew a certain opacity in her analysis, recounting the thoughts that cross her mind during matches without filters, both vis-à-vis the technical-tactical and psychological aspects of the game. Faced with the right questions, Naomi also goes on to explain in detail what worked and what didn’t, and the countermeasures adopted. Therefore, her press conferences are the most interesting that the women’s circuit can offer, by far”.
At first glance, the Esquire op-ed was too far from the “absent-minded” behaviour of old (the fake dumb shtick) and from the vaguely nerdy speeches of a few years ago, when she talked about her addiction to video games, mixed with all the relational difficulties of a teenager who finds herself on the public stage. However, in same article there are a lot of personal aspects that relate to the first version of Osaka: “But I am proud, too, of the small part I have played in changing perceptions and opinions. I love the thought of a biracial girl in a classroom in Japan glowing with pride when I win a Grand Slam. I really hope that the playground is a friendlier place for her now that she can point to a role model and be proud of who she is. And dream big.”
Looking back, and considering the whole situation in general terms, it can be noticed that, even on matters that are not necessarily political, Osaka’s search for a level of self-awareness goes far deeper than that of her peers. She is forward and outspoken in expressing her thoughts, she is open to criticism, and she is always ready to reflect on her personal condition, as a tennis player and as a human being. In short, Osaka represents an original personality, which has evolved over time, neither more nor less than can happen to any intelligent girl between the ages of 17 and 23.
This is what she’s looked like so far. What about the future, then? Will her political commitment lead to backlash from her sponsors? How will the public, Japanese and non, take it? How much will the media deal with this aspect, once competitive tennis is back? Will it become a regular feature in post-match press conferences?
As far as I’m concerned, two themes stand out – one more prosaic and one more “sentimental“. The first one is the reaction of her Japanese endorsers. The second one is how Osaka’s personality will evolve in the next few years, given that, as she wrote herself, “I guess that when I read this piece back in the future, my evolution as a person will have continued.” As of now, however, we cannot have certainties: only time will give us definitive answers.
