Tennis Random, Random (On Court)

[MJ2004]

I watched the Naomi Osaka Netflix documentary last night.

The good: A close look at a very thoughtful, introspective player. The camera had surprisingly close access to her during and outside of tournaments, and, less so, also to her family, team, and boyfriend. They even followed her in Minnesota during the riots. There were some great quotes from her along the way and her likability, drive and intelligence came through loud and clear.

The bad: It was noteworthy for what was missing - the Serena incident wasn't mentioned at all, Sascha was wiped out completely, as if he never even existed, and of course it ends before this year's incidents. Understandable why, but if you want to seem like more than a PR piece that's been approved every step of the way by your team, it's important to allow the director a little lee-way.

The final product came across a bit too polished but overall I enjoyed it. Now, come back to us in another ten years when there's a fuller story to tell.

[ti-amie]

Ben Rothenberg is once again at the center of controversy.






Quentin Moynet @QuentinMoynet
Interrogée, de manière "assez agressive" selon @BenRothenberg, sur le fait qu'elle est très mise en avant par les médias mais qu'elle n'aime pas leur parler, Naomi Osaka a fondu en larmes en conf de presse à Cincinnati. Elle a quitté la salle avant de revenir répondre.
Translated from French by Google
Questioned, "quite aggressively" according to @BenRothenberg, on the fact that she is very highlighted by the media but that she does not like to talk to them, Naomi Osaka burst into tears in a press conference in Cincinnati. She left the room before coming back to answer.



Ichabod Crane Redux Hedgehog @MichaelIreton
Replying to @BenRothenberg
Just saw the full exchange on @TSN_Sports, including the question. The camera stayed on Osaka, so we didn't see the reporter to read expression, body language, etc. Not great audio, but the q didn't SOUND "aggressively toned" to me. Duguid (Naomi's agent) calling him a bully seems a bit much.

Thutmose @tristanbckup Replying to @mattracquet
The problem is pervasive. Quentin Moynet deliberately twisted Novak's words to make it seem to be about Biles. His sinister article led to an avalanche of bile thrown at Djokovic for WEEKS by both tennis fans and celebrity novices.

Yet he is tweeting today about death threats.

Here is the article written by the reporter who asked the question.



And yes the Djokovic conversation started another rabbit hole.

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

I watched the video. Her reaction was to the mention of Rothenberg's name. She answered the Cincinnati reporters question with no problems. SIGH.

[ponchi101]

Daugherty really seems to have done nothing. To me, the article he wrote is balanced.
And when you look at the video, the question was in no way aggressive.
And I really do not follow Rotheberg, but there have been some comments here and in TAT1.0. What's the deal with him?

[MJ2004]

And I really do not follow Rotheberg, but there have been some comments here and in TAT1.0. What's the deal with him?

Because we don't have enough heated debates on this forum? You want to go there, really?

[ponchi101]

...

Because we don't have enough heated debates on this forum? You want to go there, really?

Sorry. I really do not know much about him.
I have said so: I really should not be running this place. Really.

[mmmm8]

I watched the video. Her reaction was to the mention of Rothenberg's name. She answered the Cincinnati reporters question with no problems. SIGH.

This could be but I'm not 100% sure. She gets agitated around that point, but I think it might be already on the way when they get to his name. She answers his question later after coming back and seems fine.

[mmmm8]

About Ben Rothenberg... his first tennis credential was for TalkAboutTennis.com

[Deuce]

Very interesting.
Watching the entire (almost 9 minute) video of the press conference, it seems somewhat clear to me that she did not cry because of the question from the Cincinnati reporter. There certainly seemed to be no problem there, nor was the reporter's question in any way aggressive.
Her tears also seem unrelated to the mention of Ben's name, but rather her emotions just happened to spike at the specific moment that Ben's name was mentioned. As M8 said, she later answered Ben's question calmly and without issue.
I suppose only Naomi knows what triggered her emotions. And she has no obligation to tell anyone.

That said, Ben has been known to ruffle the feathers of a few players with what they have claimed to be his negative perspectives. I recall Zverev, for one, refusing to answer Ben's questions because he said something to the effect that Ben will twist it into something negative because that's what he does.
And Ben saying that the Cincinnati reporter's question to Naomi was "aggressive" was completely wrong and out of line and should never have been said.

As for Naomi... I think she simply cannot handle being famous. That's not a knock on her... if anything, it's a compliment, as fame is an artificial human creation which has inequality as its foundation ('famous people' are both portrayed and viewed as being 'better' than the average person).
Naomi is thoughtful and sensitive and emotional. And young. And she's learning that fame is not at all what it's cracked up to be. While it does afford you some definite advantages and privileges, it also cuts the other way in that it creates pressure to perform (either real or imagined), and you are more scrutinized. You can't have your cake and eat it, too.

In a way, she's similar to Kyrgios - in that I am convinced that Kyrgios loves the sport of tennis (I think anyone who has seen his never ending smile and laughter on the practice court would agree). But Kyrgios hates the pro tennis environment - he reacts to the attention and pressure by rebelling aggressively (and immaturely) against the pro tennis environment, whereas Osaka, the natural introvert, reacts to the attention and pressure by retreating into her shell.

"Fame is proof that the people are gullible." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

.

[skatingfan]

I watched the video. Her reaction was to the mention of Rothenberg's name. She answered the Cincinnati reporters question with no problems. SIGH.

I don't think that's fair at all - she started to tear up while the moderator was speaking but you have no way of knowing what she was reacting or what she was thinking, and assuming that you do is the problem. You're doing the same thing that you're criticizing Rothenberg for.

[ti-amie]

We can disagree about who or what caused the reaction but it was definitely not the local reporter. And she did come back and answer questions put to her. She didn't storm off and never come back which is the impression that was given by initial reports.

[mmmm8]

I don't think Zverev is a good example of a player whose feathers Ben's ruffled (there are several), since Zverev's issue is with Ben is about Zverev's domestic violence history.

[ponchi101]

I don't think Zverev is a good example of a player whose feathers Ben's ruffled (there are several), since Zverev's issue is with Ben is about Zverev's domestic violence history.

ah, indeed different. If Zverev's issue is that somebody is asking pertinent questions about an unsavory issue, but which the public is aware of, than Rotherberg is doing nothing more than doing his job. I think it was Megan that explained that if you were the editor of a newspaper AND your reporter would not ask such questions, you would, at the very least, had a talk with your reporter. They are not there to be enemies of the players, but they are also there to do a job.
---0---
About Naomi. I am still stuck in the piece I wrote after RG. IF going to the press conference is indeed too stressful for her, this has to be analyzed. And if she indeed can't handle this, maybe a dispensation is in order.
I know that the WTA may be hesitant of this because if she gets one, then all other players have the right for the same. But, again, having her walk out of press conferences in tears is of no use to anybody.