Naomi Osaka may not be a fan of the media, but whenever she has felt the need to speak out about what’s on her mind, she never hesitates to do so.
Over the weekend, she had one of those moments and decided to talk about her “tennis memories” with her followers. The Aug. 29 Instagram and Twitter post, which was nothing more than a screenshot of her notes from her phone was titled “hi” and started off with her saying, “I’ve been reflecting over this past year. So grateful for the people around me because the support I feel is completely unparalleled.”
Earlier this year, the No. 3-ranked tennis player pulled out of the French Open, saying that the press has a lack of “regard for athletes’ mental health.” Her actions caused quite the stir in the tennis world and sparked conversations surrounding athletes and their mental health, especially when it comes to the media. While she received backlash from commentators and was fined $15,000 for skipping out on the mandatory press conference, she also received loads of support from fellow athletes, celebrities, and fans.
Her written statement continued with her revealing that she frequently thinks that she is “never good enough.” The 23-year-old says that instead of speaking positively about herself she instead continues to criticize her performances. “I’ve never told myself that I’ve done a good job but I do know I constantly tell myself that I suck or I could do better,” she said.
Explaining how she views herself, she wrote, “I know in the past some people have called me humble but if I really consider it I think I’m extremely self deprecating. Every time a new opportunity arises my first thought is, ‘wow, why me?’ I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m gonna try to celebrate myself and my accomplishments more, I think we all should.”
Osaka began listing examples in her note of what small accomplishments she could start congratulating herself on. “Your life is your own and you shouldn’t value yourself on other people’s standards,” she said and ended her statement with “Seeing everything that’s going on in the world I feel like if I wake up in the morning that’s a win. That’s how I’m coming.”
Osaka received over 270,000 likes on Instagram for her transparent post along with 95,000 likes and 16,000 retweets on Twitter.
