Naomi Osaka returns to Paris warier and watchful with her words

In the summer of 2021, Naomi Osaka logged on to Instagram for an impromptu live broadcast with the simple aim of briefly revealing her new dog, Butta, to her fans. Within seconds, though, the view counter spiked. Tens of thousands of her followers logged on and comments furiously rained down.

As she showed off her dog, Osaka continually noted her surprise at how many people were watching such a mundane task. She logged off shortly after. A fleeting, insignificant moment, but it served to underline what it means to be Naomi Osaka today. The highest earning women’s athlete in the world. A magnet for masses of attention through the smallest of acts. A person still navigating all of that in real time, making decisions in full view of public scrutiny.

A few months earlier, at last year’s French Open, Osaka provided another. On the eve of the tournament’s media day, Osaka posted a statement on her social media announcing that she would not be conducting press conferences due to their impact on her mental health.

What she had perhaps envisioned as a niche, tennis-specific issue quickly became global news and her cry for help ended with the grand slams releasing a harsh joint statement suggesting that she could face suspension for not conducting media. After her first-round match, Osaka decided to withdraw from the tournament.

One year on from her incident, and after taking a break from professional tennis at the end of the season, Osaka has returned to the French Open and on Thursday she conducted her pre-tournament press conference. She admitted that her return to the French Open was a source of consternation.

“I’m not gonna lie,” she said on Friday. “When I first came here, I was very worried. Of course I also didn’t like how