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Tennis: Tearful Naomi Osaka leaves press conference after strained relationship with media comes under spotlight

Tearful Naomi Osaka briefly left a press conference in Cincinnati, after her reluctant relationship with media was put under the spotlight.

Osaka has had a strained relationship with sections of the media, insisting her mental health is adversely impacted by certain lines of questioning.

On Tuesday, a local Cincinnati reporter at the Western & Southern Open suggested Osaka's projects outside tennis benefit from her huge media profile, even as she struggles to maintain a working relationship with the press.

"You're not crazy about dealing with us, especially in this format, yet you have a lot of outside interests that are served by having a media platform," Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty posed.

"I guess my question is, how do you balance the two and also do you have anything you'd like to share with us about what you did say to Simone Biles?"

The world No. 2 answered the question with poise, revealing she had sent Olympic gymnast Biles a text message after the American's documented struggles in Tokyo.

But moments after moving on to the next reporter, Osaka began to tear up. 

"When you say I'm not crazy about dealing with you guys, what does that refer to?" asked Osaka.

"Ever since I was younger, I have had a lot of media interest on me and I think it's because of my background as well.

"I can't really help that there are some things that I tweet or some things that I say that kind of create a lot of news articles or things like that... but I would also say I'm not really sure how to balance the two. 

"I'm figuring it out at the same time as you are, I would say."

After the exchange, she wiped away tears and pulled her visor over her eyes to hide her face, before the moderator called for a pause to proceedings.

Osaka left the room briefly, regained her composure and returned to complete the news conference.

The exchange highlighted the challenges Osaka faces as one of the world's most famous athletes.

In the lead-up to this year's French Open in May, Osaka said she would boycott the obligatory post-match news conferences at the claycourt Grand Slam to protect her mental health. 

The decision led to a backlash from tournament organisers, who fined her and threatened to ban her from the Grand slams, if she refused to speak to the media.

Osaka revealed she had struggled to cope with depression, and she subsequently pulled out of Roland Garros and Wimbledon for the sake of her mental well-being.

After losing early at the Tokyo Olympics, where she was given the honour of lighting the flame at the opening ceremony, she admitted she struggled to cope with the huge pressure and expectation placed on her.

At Cincinnati, agent Stuart Duguid has condemned the Daugherty line of questioning.

"The bully at the Cincinnati Enquirer is the epitome of why player/media relations are so fraught right now," says Duguid.

"Everyone on that Zoom will agree that his tone was all wrong and his sole purpose was to intimidate, really appalling behaviour.

"This insinuation that Naomi owes her off-court success to the media is a myth, don't be so self-indulgent."

The reporter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 23-year-old Japanese player, who has also announced she will donate winnings from the Cincinnati tournament to Haiti earthquake victims, has used her platform to call attention to mental health issues and says she feels supported by her fellow athletes.

"The biggest eye-opener was going to the Olympics, and having other athletes come up to me and say they were really glad that I did what I did," she says.

"I'm proud of what I did and I think that it was something that needed to be done."

Where to find help and support: