Naomi Osaka responded to conservative pundit Megyn Kelly who said the tennis player isn’t being honest about why she doesn’t want to do media interviews, the Hill reported. 

Kelly, who is a former Fox and NBC News host, attacked Osaka for appearing on several magazine covers and said the 23-year-old backed out of competing in Wimbledon because she doesn’t like answering “[questions] she can’t control."

"Poor @naomiosaka blocked me while taking a shot at me (guess she's only tough on the courts). She is apparently arguing that she shot her many covers b/4 publicly claiming she was too socially anxious to deal w/press. Truth is she just doesn't like Qs she can't control. Admit it," Kelly said. 

Osaka shot down her accusations and urged the conservative commentator to "do better."

"Seeing as you’re a journalist I would’ve assumed you would take the time to research what the lead times are for magazines, if you did that you would’ve found out I shot all of my covers last year," Osaka said in a now-deleted tweet. "Instead your first reaction is to hop on here and spew negativity, do better Megan." 

The feud began when conservative radio host Clay Travis tweeted “Since saying she’s too introverted to talk to the media after tennis matches, Naomi Osaka has launched a reality show, a Barbie, and now is on the cover of the SI swimsuit issue,” Yahoo reported. 

Kelly retweeted Travis' tweet and stated that Osaka also appeared on the covers of Vogue Japan and Time Magazine. 

Last month, Osaka announced she would withdraw from Wimbledon due to mental health, as Blavity previously
reported.

“I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athlete’s mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one,” Osaka said. 

"We're often sat there and asked questions that we've been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I'm just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me," she added.

In Time Magazine’s July issue, Osaka opened up about her mental health issues and why it’s OK to ask for help. 

“There can be moments for any of us where we are dealing with issues behind the scenes. Each of us as humans is going through something on some level,” Osaka told Time.

“I have numerous suggestions to offer the tennis hierarchy, but my No. 1 suggestion would be to allow a small number of 'sick days' per year where you are excused from your press commitments without having to disclose your personal reasons. I believe this would bring sport in line with the rest of society,” she added.

Recently, a Barbie doll was made in Osaka’s likeness and sold out within hours of it going on sale to the public. In a tweet, Osaka said she hopes the doll will remind every child “that they can be and do anything.”

Osaka is now preparing for the Tokyo Olympics where she plans to represent Japan.

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