‘I’m Not Going to Name Them’- Naomi Osaka Says WTA Players Need to Have a Certain Personality to Be Friends With Her on Tour

After struggling in the first three tournaments of 2022, Naomi Osaka made a strong comeback at the Miami Open. Maintaining her composure, the former World No. 1 sailed over her opponents. However, her comeback run came to a halt in the finals, where she was outplayed by Iga Swiatek.

Naomi Osaka is known for her reserve nature. However, speaking about Swiatek during the trophy presentation ceremony, Naomi recalled her dinner with Iga in Australia.

Her words immediately caught the attention of journalists, as a few days ago, she had asserted that being a top player, it is difficult for her to socialize with other players. The journalists raised the same point during her post-match press conference.

Noami Osaka on socializing with fellow players

In regards to her previous comments, Osaka was asked to open up about how many players she socializes with or has an in-depth conversation with.

Answering the question with serenity, Naomi asserted that she can count such players on her fingertips. However, she refrained from taking their names. “I honestly think I can probably count them on my hand. But I’m not going to name them because I don’t want to call them out,” she said.

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Analyzing her media interactions, public interactions, and her social media, Naomi Osaka seems to have a reserved personality. The player rarely gets spotted with some other player. During most of her media interactions, she refrains from going critical over any fellow player. A similar pattern was visible in Osaka’s answer.

Elaborating further on her personality, Osaka claimed that the person needs to have a particular type of personality to converse with her. “I feel like you have to have a certain type of personality to talk to me, and it’s always like the outgoing people, because I never talk first.”

Opening up on her relationship with Swiatek, Osaka said, “I think Iga is the first person that I kept approaching her a little bit.”

Naomi Osaka is not the most social person

Naomi Osaka usually has a sweet approach while speaking or conversing with people. However, her coach Wim Fissette feels something else. Expressing herself further, Osaka confessed that her coach and some other people tell her that her intimidating personality restricts people from talking to her. “I think Wim or some people tell me I’m like intimidating to like start talking to or whatever. I never really thought that way about myself.” 

Taking Wim’s point into consideration, Osaka confessed that it is she who has built this reputation of not being the most social person.

She said, “I have already built up the reputation of not being the most socializing person, so… If anyone sees this, you can talk to me if you want to (smiling).”

Nonetheless, on the tennis front, Osaka can draw a lot of confidence from her memorable run to the final in Miami this year. Despite her loss in the final, the four-time Grand Slam champion played some of her best tennis in a long time to reach her first final in nearly 14 months.

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With Osaka back in form, it will be intriguing to witness how she fares in the upcoming clay season.