Naomi Osaka is extremely close to her sister Mari and understandably she couldn’t stand the comment of a fan that launched an inappropriate poll criticizing her sister wildcard in the main draw in Miami back in 2019 after Stefanos Tsitsipas’ brother Petro received also a wild card in the qualifying draw in Dubai this year. As mentioned, the reaction of the Japanese sensation is completely understandable, but it would be better to avoid to expose their sibling and themselves with this kind wildcards for the good of everyone: the “star”, the beneficiaries of the wildcard, the organization, and the other players that couldn’t get a wildcard because they are not the relatives of “illustrious players.”
Many tennis fans do not consider as appropriate when brothers, sisters sons or daughters of illustrious tennis players receive a wildcard. There was a lot of criticism when Novak Djokovic’s brother Marko received a wildcard in Dubai back in 2012 (he lost 6-3 6-2 from Golubev). Last year, Mari Osaka earned a wildcard in the main draw in Miami where she lost 6-2 6-4 from 16-year-old Whitney Osuigwe, prompting some criticism. Recently many people on social media vented their disapproval after Stefanos Tsitsipas’ Petros (ranked 1292) received a wildcard in the qualifying draw Dubai (he lost 6-3 6-2 from Sugita).
Osaka furious vs. fan
Naomi was absolutely furious against the fan that launched a poll asking which wildcard was embarrassing between the one received by Mari and Petros. The Japanese sensation replied: “Your existence is embarrassing. Don’t mention my sister ever.”
Naomi canceled her reply.
Is giving wildcards to the sibling of illustrious players a good idea?
Probably not. The first people to suffer are the players that receive the wildcards as they are bombarded and tagged (unfairly or not) as beneficiaries of unjust nepotism. Then the “illustrious players” also receive some criticism to be labelled as unfair. Djokovic, Osaka, and Tsitsipas are marvelous examples of our sport and they do not deserve to be criticized because of this not-so-important issue. Also, the result is often not great: Marko, Mari, and Petros lost in straight easy sets to confirm the doubts (and unfortunately the haters) and this can put even more pressure on them. Finally, the organization of the event risks losing some credibility and the comments are often brutal as below. Better to avoid that.
Naomi Osaka’s ranking and performance in 2020
Ranked world no.10, the Japanese played her last match on the 7th of February when she was overcome by Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-0 6-3 in the Rubber 1 in Fed Cup.
Naomi Osaka’s best result of the current season was getting to the semi-finals in Brisbane.
Tsitsipas in Marseille, ranking, and results in 2020
At the moment ranked no.6, the Greek has a 6-4 win-loss record in 2020. Stefanos is now having a run in Marseille where he ousted Mikael Ymer 6-1 6-3, Vasek Pospisil 7-5 6-3 and Alexander Bublik 7-5 6-3.
The Greek won 4 titles in his career: 1 on clay courts and 3 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Naomi Osaka her sister Mari |
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