Media scrutiny and hype could be the undoing of many a promising young sports star.
Should it ever appear, the headline “The bitter tears of Naomi Osaka” will provoke mixed feelings. One could admire the allusion to The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, a 1972 all-female-cast German movie by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, even as one’s heart sinks.
Osaka, the world’s top-ranked women’s tennis player and winner of the past two grand-slam singles titles, has cried in public three times in just a few months.
The first shedding of tears was unremarkable: she’d just beaten Serena Williams, the greatest female player of all time, in the US Open final amid a controversy not of her making (Sport, September 29) that prompted sections of the New York crowd to boo throughout the presentation ceremony.
After being knocked out in her first match at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February, the 21-year-old Osaka wept at a press conference as she tried to explain her split with coach Sascha Bajin without speaking ill of the departed.
This story is from the March 23 -29 2019 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 23 -29 2019 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Candid cameras in wartime
Clandestine photos have been unearthed and turned into a documentary showing Kiwi soldiers during World War II as they have never been seen before.
Return of the queen
Beth Orton brings the personal songs of her career-reviving album to NZ.
Fanny, the musical
How do you turn Jane Austen into opera and why pick Mansfield Park, her most demanding novel? Composer Jonathan Dove explains his approach to Richard Betts.
It's in the blood
Michael Bennett returns his Maori detective to her roots ina convincing, highly anticipated second novel.
Touchstones
Ahead of the Aotearoa Art Fair, Sally Blundell asks New Zealand artists about their favourite local artwork and why it moves them.
Room at the Top
The Opportunities Party could well be a force to be reckoned with as a centrist voice - it's just lacking a leader, a campaign and a lot of money.
Brought to book
He's rich, opinionated and believes in doing good for the community. Property developer Mark Todd is a study in contrasts.
'Why aren't you listening to me?!"
To really understand each other, our brains need to be in sync, says author Charles Duhigg. And, yes, there are ways to get on to the same wavelength.
The virus that came to stay
With current funding for our Covid response drawing to a close, there’s growing recognition that many people are suffering debilitating long-term effects. What’s the next move?
The chips are down
It's a forecast no Irish person with a sense of history expected ever to hear again: a severe potato shortage looms.
