12,000 euros fine to begin with, will Osaka persist in its media boycott?

At Roland-Garros,

Fabrice Santoro is a lucky guy. The former two-handed knitter, who is part of the battalion of field-side interviewers hired by the Fed for the fortnight, asked Naomi Osaka more questions after her laborious opening victory than all the duly accredited journalists on the places. The Japanese, however, managed to mumble under a mask decorated with a kind of shark jaw more than intimidating. Moreover, Fabulous Fab dropped the case faster than in its heyday on the court, despite encouraging beginnings based on a bouquet of flowers and “Happy Mother’s Day”. “Ladies and gentlemen, sorry, I did not understand”.

Blame it on the sound system, a little, and Naomi’s lack of enthusiasm, a lot. World number 2, biggest female star in her sport by miles (50 million euros of pocket money in just sponsorship over the past year) had warned his world at the end of the week on social networks. Silenzio Stampa for the duration of the tournament despite
a first fine of $ 15,000 and a joint statement from the four Grand Slams making him look big. Mocking comments from followers? It shouldn’t cost her that much, given the number of matches she has won in Paris: four including that of this Sunday.

Nishikori to save the furniture?

In short. The reason given by the world number 2 to make us face: “Often, we are asked questions that we have already been asked many times or questions that make us doubt and I will not submit to people who doubt me ”. The small group of Japanese journalists, who have threaded the 10,000 plane terminals and who will also have to cope with a fortnight at home on their return, are delighted, as you can imagine. “It has always been difficult to access, that’s how it is. His image is a little mixed, ”says a fatalistic Japanese colleague. He especially hopes that Nishikori, embarked on a trap against an Italian unknown to our services, will not let go too soon: “He no longer has the results he could have, but it remains a huge star with us”. So a reason to justify its expense reports.

All is not false in what the young girl tells, of course. Our little experience of Roland is full of moments of intense embarrassment in the press room. The most beautiful in memory? This poor foreign colleague who congratulates Mahut on his victory in the preamble, while the Frenchman comes out pissed off from a dirty defeat in 2014. Impossible to catch up, obviously. We ourselves weren’t faultless last fall when it came to asking a question of Mladenovic’s opponent, while on the other side of the screen was American Sofia Kenin, who had no Nothing to do with sauerkraut. “ Sorry, wrong conference », The computer had blushed with shame as much as we did.

❤️ pic.twitter.com/EegFSKnoie

– NaomiOsaka 大 坂 な お み (@naomiosaka) May 26, 2021

Serena Williams, the counterexample

Errors of course not very representative of the atmosphere of respect which most often escorts the careers of the great champions of this sport, even in defeat. Take Serena Williams, the model Osaka says she is inspired by, after her Australian Open semi-final loss to her last January. The American has just seen once again the myth of the 24th Grand Slam slip under her feet, and she knows like us that at 39, every opportunity is perhaps the last. Everyone chooses to grope it, until an innocent question about the reasons for the multiple unforced errors of Serena, which she herself had just mentioned. An answer – “I don’t know” – then a stifled sob: “We’re going to stop there”.

A moving moment, like Muguruza’s tears at Roland Garros a year after his victory, when the head no longer followed. A moment that tells all the humanity of these emotional war machines, like the sincere dismay of Dominic Thiem, caught up by Andujar on the Central this Sunday and globally beside his pumps since he won his first Grand Slam in 2020 : “It was not the version of me who can win titles, I have to understand why”. A moment that brings them closer to their fans, everywhere, and in all languages.

The Japanese does what she wants, of course, even if some sisters kindly pointed out to her that women’s tennis was not possible. and that the branch should not be sawed, coughed. Caroline Garcia: “This press, these media, this attention that we are lucky to have, to be the most publicized women’s sport in the world, brings sponsors, patches on your clothes, on your cap, that bring your price money which is the most important in women’s sport ”.

We could add concerning Osaka that the young woman wins to be known. What sportswoman can today boast of having refused to play a semi-final of a Masters 1000 to protest against police violence in the United States? A much more fascinating topic of conversation than her supposed difficulties sliding on Parisian clay, if that’s the kind of questions that bother her.