"I'm not big on accusing her of entitlement, but Naomi Osaka kind of wants to have things on her terms; it just doesn't work that way" - Peter Bodo
Tennis journalist Peter Bodo had a few choice words to say about Naomi Osaka regarding how she handled her recent heckling incident at Indian Wells. Bodo criticized the Japanese player, saying that it's wrong for her to think that she can do everything on her own terms.
The former World No. 1 made waves in the tennis world last week when she broke down in tears after getting heckled during her second-round match in the desert. Osaka went on to lose the match and later addressed the crowd in an unprecedented move. The 24-year-old wanted to speak to the heckler directly midway through the match but her request was denied by the chair umpire.
Naomi Osaka was heckled during her second-round loss at Indian Wells on Saturday and asked to address the crowd afterward to explain why it made her so upset.
More: es.pn/3q17O7x https://t.co/ZOxDuZMKa2
Speaking on the latest episode of the Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe podcast, Peter Bodo expressed his disapproval of the four-time Grand Slam champion's actions. The American remarked that the Japanese cannot expect to be allowed to address the crowd directly just because of her reputation.
Bodo was of the opinion that Naomi Osaka was looking to create a "boutique tennis experience" for herself, something that he was staunchly against.
"I'm not big on accusing her of entitlement, but Naomi Osaka kind of wants to have things on her terms. Addressing the crowd [in the middle of the match], thinking she is going to get that just because she's Naomi Osaka. You can't do that, that's quite a leap," Bodo said. "I think her attempts to impose and create a boutique tennis experience for herself, it just doesn't work that way."
The 72-year-old pointed to Osaka's controversial moments from last year to prove his point. At Roland Garros, the Japanese announced that she would not be partaking in mandatory press conferences because of the mental stress they levied on her.
After her elimination at the US Open, Naomi Osaka said she is thinking of taking a break from tennis.
“I honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match.” https://t.co/UNYzWrWCVz
The tournament organizers retaliated by fining her, and Osaka later pulled out of the event under a cloud. Later at the US Open, the World No. 78 shocked the world once again by revealing that she was going to take a break from the game for mental health reasons.
Referring to both incidents, Peter Bodo gave his verdict that Naomi Osaka should understand that "her own terms" were not working in her favor, implying that it was time for her to make compromises.
"Her own terms haven't worked out well for her. Her own terms was not doing press and finding out that the players did not support her and that the tournaments were not behind her," Bodo said. "Even coming back to tennis on her own terms, meaning taking three months off and coming back, that's not working out either."
The American also questioned how the former World No. 1 could claim that she did not want to do press conferences and still attend other interviews and video shoots for commercials, which were just as "public facing."
Daniil Medvedev says he feels for Naomi Osaka because he felt the same in Australian Open final 😔
Do you think steps should be taken to stop the heckling in Tennis court? 🤔
#DaniilMedvedev #NaomiOsaka #Tennis #IndianWells #AustralianOpen https://t.co/KFnrCVbsJl
Bodo was of the opinion that Naomi Osaka wanted to "have it both ways" but was not sure it would sail in the public eye.
"She wants to have it both ways, and I think it is very hard to have it both ways. I think a lot of people see that she is talking about how shy she is and how sensitive she is and she wants some space, but they see she is doing all these ads and interviews that are public facing," Bodo said. "How could you be so comfortable doing all these interviews but you can't do the simple ones that are asked of you?"
Naomi Osaka took a lot of liberty in assuming the heckling was racially based but there's no evidence of it: Peter Bodo
In the speech Naomi Osaka made after her loss, she stated that the heckling reminded her of the racist comments directed at Venus and Serena Williams at the same venue many years back. Peter Bodo did not agree with that assessment either, saying that there was no evidence that the Japanese's incident was racially motivated in any way.
“I just wanted to say ‘Thank You.”
“I’ve gotten heckled before but heckled here, I watched a video of Venus and Serena getting heckled here. If you haven’t watched it, you should watch it.”
A tearful Naomi Osaka after a fool fan heckled her vs Veronika Kudermetova #BNPPO22 https://t.co/NkM7MoRwD4
Furthermore, Bodo also wondered if the 24-year-old's past encounters with racism during her role as an activist led her to see patterns where none existed.
"I think where Naomi Osaka really lost it and lost some sympathy was when she said you should watch [the incident with Venus and Serena Williams]. I think a lot of people did and were appalled by it. I think she took a lot of liberty in assuming the heckling was racially based. There was no clear or even any obscure evidence that the comment was racially motivated. Sometimes a heckler is just a heckler," Bodo said.
"For Naomi to be triggered, something clearly happened in her that triggered something in her, something that goes back to her social activism frame of mind, feelings of race relations and herself," he added.
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