Osaka on difficulty facing press after losing matches: "It's like pouring salt into a wound"

Naomi Osaka never really enjoyed talking to the media but she really doesn't enjoy talking to them after a loss because it's like pouring salt into a wound to her.

Osaka was never the most confident when dealing with the media as her shy persona was always very noticeable. A fierce competitor on the court, but very shy off the court, Osaka simply does not enjoy the process in general, especially after a loss. The situation escalated when she refused to give interviews at the 2021 Roland Garros

It sparked a huge controversy and threats of fines which caused her to eventually withdraw from the event to avoid even more media attention. She recently wrote an essay where she talked about her difficulty in dealing with it:

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"One of the most difficult parts was, directly following a defeat, to have to go into the press room and talk to the media, answering questions about why I played poorly or what I could have done better, and to be asked, ‘How does it feel?’ to have just lost the match. None of those conversations are enjoyable, but especially not on the heels of a loss. It’s like pouring salt into a wound."

She added:

"The sheer weight of the outcome of a match made me realize I needed to take a step back and create a new metric for success, as hyper-fixating on wins and losses was damaging to my mental health as well as to my love of the game."

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