Star tennis player Naomi Osaka recently slammed her critics during a Q&A session she held on Instagram Stories for her fans.
Osaka, 24, revealed she does not care anymore about the comments of her critics after one of her fans told her to play at the Australian Open as if she has something to prove, according to EssentiallySports.
“Respectfully, I don’t have anything to prove,” the four-time Grand Slam champion said. “Before my first Slam, I was told I had potential, but probably not going to capitalize on it. After my first Slam, I was told I got lucky, and I was a one hit wonder. After my second Slam, I was told that I could be great but I was unsure. After my third and fourth Slams, I was told I will only be good on hard courts.” “Moral of the story – people are always going to have something to say and IDGAF [I don’t give a f*ck] anymore,” she added.
Osaka also shared some stories during the Q&A session, including the funny behind-the-scenes moment referred to as the “shoe incident,” Sportskeeda reported.
“For the life of me, I couldn’t put on the heels I was supposed to wear for the [Australian Open] trophy picture last year,” Osaka said. “Spent 20 minutes trying to find new shoes, came back this year and found out it’s now being referred to as the shoe incident.”
When asked about her biggest achievement in tennis, Osaka revealed that being asked to be the final torchbearer at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 was “something I am going to remember and be so grateful for the rest of my life.”
The Osaka-born tennis star was slapped with a $15,000 fine last year after she failed to show up at a Roland Garros press conference, citing the importance of mental health for athletes as the reason. Days after being fined, Osaka announced that she would not participate in that year’s French Open, NextShark previously reported.
Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open to take care of her mental health inspired gymnast Simone Biles, who decided not to compete in the gymnastics team final at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
The World’s No. 14 female singles tennis player plans to approach this new year with a different mindset and not focus on results or rankings.
“I only really have one major goal this year, and it’s completely unrelated to results and stuff like that,” Osaka said on Jan. 4, according to The Washington Post. “For me, I just want to feel like every time I step on the court… I’m having fun. I can walk off the court knowing that even if I lost, I tried as hard as I could… I just need to find a way to enjoy the game again because that’s the reason why I was playing in the first place.”
Featured Image via @naomiosaka
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