Tristique Nulla Massa
LIGULA MANGA No. 001
NAOMI OSAKA
An Introduction
Who is Naomi Osaka?
Naomi Osaka is a half-Japanese,
half-Haitian Tennis Player. She is
also an entrepreneur and role
model to people all around the
globe. At age 3, she and her parents
moved to New York from Osaka and
later settled in Florida. She was
homeschooled, and some of her
fond memories involved playing
tennis with her sister in the
mornings. In 2018, she represented
Japan in the Grandslam Title in
the US Open and won the grand
title, making her the first player
from Japan to achieve such a feat.
She was also the first Asian woman
to make it to the top of the WTA
(women’s tennis association). She
is also an activist and advocate for
social justice.
Her love for the sport began at a
young age. Her father encouraged
her to take up tennis, so she started
playing tennis in the mornings
and was homeschooled at night.
She bypassed her junior
competition and finally turned
2 3 CHAPTER 001
I don’t think you can win a Grand Slam and not be confi-
dent in yourself. I think, for me, I just really want to have
fun with every match that I play because tennis is a game.
professional in 2013. As time I feel like I play better when I’m calm. There is an inner
passed and her skills improved, peace I can tap into sometimes during my matches.
she became one of the top emerging
players in the sport. In March 2018,
she won the WTA title in the BNP
Paribas Open in Indian Wells,
California. Six months later, she
competed with her childhood idol,
Serena William and won against
the 23-time win her first major
title. Today, she is the first person
to have won 4 grand slam awards
and has won the US and Australian
open twice.
She is a great tennis player, but she
also strives to fight against social
inequality. At the US Open, she
sent a powerful message to the
world by wearing seven face masks
on different occasions, each with a
name of a black American killed by
a police officer in the act of racism.
She is a well-known name in tennis
and has left the world in awe with
her talent. Today, she lives in Los
Angeles, where she amazes the
world with both her activism and
tennis.

LIGULA MANGA No. 001
MENTAL HEALTH
NAOMI’S STRUGGLES WITH MENTAL HEALTH
You can easily get depressed. Usually, if you
play sports, you think that one match or
one game is very important, and when you
lose it, you think your whole world is over.
Mental health amongst athletes is a topic that is seldom spoken about
owing to the fact that even today, mental health is a very taboo subject.
However, today more and more athletes are making an effort to be more
vocal about their mental health in hopes of destigmatizing it. Naomi
Osaka is no stranger to the subject, as she has constantly spoken about
her struggles with her mental well-being.
She said that her struggles with depression began at the USA open.
“When she won the US Open, it was a very good feeling. Having that
dream and to see it become reality. “ her coach said in an interview,
“But it’s funny that in a couple of days after, it’s like, Let’s go back to
work. Because the next tournament, it starts all over again. Now it’s
about “Was it a fluke?” or, you know, all these people, “Ah, it was just
luck.” So the player has to prove themselves again and again and again.”
Just as described by her coach, it is evident that sportspersons from
varied sports have the constant duty to prove themselves until the end
of their career continually. Furthermore, they have to focus on main-
taining their physique and consistently keep practising to keep their
skills on par with those of their competitors. Such activity is bound to
affect one’s mental well-being; however, it is not talked about as often.
Naomi constantly refers to herself as a ‘vessel’ as she believed she car-
4 5 CHAPTER 001
ried with her not only the opinions and encouragement of her fans or
the internet but also an amalgamation of all the hard work of her coach
and team. Many people believed in her, and thus, she did not wish to
disappoint them and put pressure on herself to constantly do better.
“No one knows all the sacrifices that you make…just to be good,” she
said in an interview, describing the effort it took for her to reach where
she was.
In the Netflix Documentary titled Naomi Osaka, we get an insight into
her life. While most sports documentaries only elucidate the whole
narrative of hard work and consistency as a route to success, there is
a whole new story hidden in the shadows. The life of a sportsperson
can sometimes be quite monotonous and lonely as much as it is about
self-discovery and hard work. The documentary addresses all aspects of
a sportsperson’s life through the lens of Naomi Osaka’s story. The series
is slow and takes a very simplistic, mundane approach to the life of Osa-
ka and opens doors to new conversations surrounding mental health
amongst young athletes.
Throughout the show, she’s seen to introspect on her life as a tennis
player constantly. Growing up, she wished for a seemingly everyday
college life, which changed due to her success in her sport. She always
contemplated what she would be doing if it were not for tennis and of-
ten wondered if she should be achieving more at age 22. While the first
episode gave us a simple introduction to her life, the second episode
grappled with more serious topics involving her well-being and what
it felt like to lose a match. One of the most profound scenes from the
episode is a short video from her 22nd birthday meal where she asks her
mother if she wondered if she (Osaka), at age 22, should’ve done more.
It gives a very mundane perspective to a sportsperson’s life and the
extreme pressure they are under to constantly bring their best to each
game as the tournaments never end, and they are regularly tested.
In May 2021, she withdrew from the French Open for her mental health
and thus sparked a meaningful conversation on the subject.
“I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players,
and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to
focusing on the tennis going on in Paris,” she wrote in an Instagram
post. “I never wanted to be a distraction, and I accept that my timing
was not ideal and my message could have been clearer. More important-
ly, I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly.” After
a much-needed break, she is back to the game and continues to talk
about mental health and activism.
LIGULA MANGA No. 001 6 7 CHAPTER 001

Naomi Osaka
LIGULA MANGA No. 001 8 9 CHAPTER 001

“For the longest time, I thought ask- Every professional athlete has fear,
ing for help was a sign of weakness doubts and negative thoughts. But
because that’s kind of what society people expect you to just ignore
teaches us. That’s especially true them and move forward. Even cer-
from an athlete’s perspective. If tain athletes feel that expressing
we ask for help, then we’re not this these things is bad and can be used
big macho athlete that people can against you in the field of play.
look up to. Well, you know what? If Dutee Chand,
someone wants to call me weak for Track and field athlete
asking for help, that’s their prob-
lem. Because I’m saving my own
life.”
Michael Phelps,
US Olympic Swimmer

“Mental health
isn’t just an athlete
thing. What you do
for a living doesn’t
have to define who
ATHLETES’
you are. This is an
everyone thing.”

Kevin Love
STRUGGLES WITH “I found that with depression, one of the
most important things you could realize is
NBA Player that you’re not alone. You’re not the first to

MENTAL HEALTH Praesent by

Iaculis el Finibus
go through it; you’re not going to be the last
to go through it.”
Dwayne “The Rock” J ohnson,
former professional wrestler

“I have gone through a phase in my “Honesty with your emotions and with
career where I felt like it was the your mental health is the most import-
end of the world. In England in 2014, ant thing. And if you’re willing to share
I just didn’t know what to do, what that with other people, it makes the
to say to anyone, how to speak, how burden so much lighter.”
to communicate. I could have said
that I am not feeling great mentally L aurie Hernandez
and need to get away from the game.
gymnast
But you never know how that’s
taken.”
V irat Kohli
cricketer
LIGULA MANGA No. 001 10 11 CHAPTER 001
Mental health, a once tabooed
subject amongst athletes, is slow-
ly gaining importance thanks to
the likes of Naomi Osaka, who
aren’t afraid to prioritise their
well-being, among other things.

Over the years, the subject was poorly

treated, and athletes feared that their
opening up about their mental health would
result in them losing their place on the
team. However, today, the subject has been
slowly beginning to destigmatise. It is
essential to remind ourselves that there are
always two sides to a story-with, the second
one often hidden in the shadows. Everyone,
be it an athlete, actor or mathematician,
has struggled mentally, and despite fame,
success or material wealth, every human
perceives emotions and feels pain similarly.
It is integral that we as a society begin to
talk more about the issue and address it in
the proper manner.

Sportspersons have it as hard as we do, and

while hard work and consistency are crucial
to success, so is the art of slowing down,
taking breaks and prioritising times with
loved ones or nature. Using the metaphor
Naomi Osaka brought of her feeling as a
‘vessel’, it is essential that we treat ourselves
not as a vessel to some external entity but as
a vessel to ourselves hoarding good
memories, healthy habits and self-
satisfaction. In the end, we are not alone
because we are human.
Tristique Nulla Massa