“I’m Going To Answer In English” – When Naomi Osaka Shut Down A Reporter

Naomi Osaka has been one of the most popular Asian athletes in recent years. Breaking past multiple barriers, the Japanese tennis star has already won two grand slams in her short but storied career.

However, it is unfortunate to see that her racial identity still remains a defining part of her career. The conversations around her Japanese-ness just don’t seem to end. Why are there controversies over her proudly held nationality?

Osaka was born in Japan to a Haitian father and Japanese mother. However, she has been living and training in America since she was three years old. Despite that, Osaka chose to play for Japan and became a citizen of that country. She was also given more support by the Japanese Tennis Association than the United States Tennis Association.

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However, there are many who claim that she is Japanese only for marketing reasons as she can’t communicate effectively in her mother tongue. One such time, this controversy came to the fore. That’s where she had some skirmishes with the media.

What happened related to the Japanese identity of tennis star Naomi Osaka? 

A Japanese journalist congratulated Osaka over her fantastic Australian Open victory in English. However, she posed rest of her question in Japanese –

“Yesterday’s match, against Petra Kvitova, a left-handed player, must’ve been difficult to counter. Could you tell us, in Japanese, how difficult it was to deal with? Just one word about how you felt.”

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A polite but firm Osaka who has clarified in the past that she can’t put her feelings across clearly in English had this as her reply –

“I’m going to say it in English”.

This media behaviour towards Osaka is absolutely deplorable. When the Japanese star has herself declared her nationality but also the complexity surrounding her upbringing is known to us all, asking these questions is just an attempt to stir the pot and make a tennis star uncomfortable. We hope that the media learns to be more cognizant of its job in the future questions asked to Naomi Osaka.