Naomi Osaka: It’s like pouring salt into a wound

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Naomi Osaka reveals she now has a different metric for success as she admits that determining her success solely on wins and losses was damaging her mental health. 

Before the 2021 French Open, Osaka announced she would not be conducting post-match press conferences. 

After drawing lots of negative attention, Osaka pulled out from the tournament and opened up about her battle with anxiety and depression. 

Since then, Osaka hasn’t played that much as she has been focused on improving her mental health. 

Now, Osaka admits that talking to reporters after losses was something she was finding very unpleasant. 

Osaka: Like pouring salt into a wound 

“One of the most difficult parts was, directly following a defeat, to have to go into the press room and talk to the media, answering questions about why I played poorly or what I could have done better, and to be asked, ‘How does it feel?’ to have just lost the match. None of those conversations are enjoyable, but especially not on the heels of a loss. It’s like pouring salt into a wound. The sheer weight of the outcome of a match made me realize I needed to take a step back and create a new metric for success, as hyper-fixating on wins and losses was damaging to my mental health as well as to my love of the game,” Osaka told Net-a-Porter. 

Over the last year and a half, Osaka has been trying to be advocate for positive changes in today’s society. 

Now, Osaka says she considers herself more than just a tennis player. 

“We need to determine our own metric of success to avoid being defined by others. We should still celebrate those wins but, when they don’t come, we need to remind ourselves that the game doesn’t define the person,” Osaka said.

Meanwhile, Osaka is scheduled to start her 2023 season in Australia. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/IpLl4m8

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