Naomi Osaka emerged victorious against the 17-year-old American Cori “Coco” Gauff to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win at the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday.
Down a set and a break to Coco, the world number 2 Osaka fought her way back to pull out a win at the Cincinnati Masters earlier today. Her first WTA Tour event since the French Open was back in May this year.
“I’m super excited to play another match,” she told AP.
This was Osaka’s first tournament since the Tokyo Olympics.
Naomi Osaka bursts into tears and exits podium while addressing how she has felt since withdrawing from French Open. pic.twitter.com/xBn8XRF8FB
— The Shadow League (@ShadowLeague) August 16, 2021
The four-time Grand Slam champion Citied discomfort with post-match news conferences. She withdrew from Roland Garros and chose to skip Wimbledon. She was knocked out in the round of 16 at the Tokyo Olympics after she was seen lighting the Olympic cauldron in her native country of Japan.
The Western & Southern Open news conference in Ohio began with Osaka replying to questions that were related to her mental health and how her press conferences have gone in the past. She talked regarding her French Open withdrawal earlier this year stating that she didn’t want to attend the new conferences, citing her mental health.
After statements made by all four major tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open) stating that Osaka will be further punished and could be defaulted from the tournament as well. She withdrew from the tournament revealing that she has suffered long term depression ever since winning her first major.
