Cincinnati, Ohio – Naomi Osaka vowed on Monday to give more than just this week’s Cincinnati Masters prize money in aid of the earthquake in her father’s native Haiti.

The natural disaster which has claimed over 1,400 victims, prompted an immediate response from the world No. 2.

“I’m not really doing that much,” the four-time Grand Slam champion said. “I could do more and I’m trying to figure out where to put my energy.

“The prize money was the first thing I thought of that would raise the most awareness.”

The Japanese-Haitian player called the disaster “really scary.”

“I see there was damage near my parent’s former school,” she said.

Osaka was holding her first traditional news conference since May in Rome.

Her distaste for media questioning exploded at Roland Garros in May when she suggested the question-answer format was too intrusive, especially after losses, and said she would refrain from them in Paris.

After her first-round win in Paris, she answered a few questions on court but a day later quit the tournament before the second round. Osaka also skipped Wimbledon, saying she needed time to work on her mental health as a result of her post-match tennis stress level. After lighting the Olympic flame in Tokyo, Osaka lost in the third round to Czech Marketa Vondrousova and left for the US.

“I feel sad about how I did,” she said of the Games. “But I was glad for the experience, lighting the torch was fun.

“It will be a really big memory for me.”

Osaka takes the second seeding at the joint ATP-WTA Cincinnati event behind Australian Ashleigh Barty.

A tense moment at the news conference put a further spotlight on Osaka’s relationship with the media.

A local Cincinnati reporter suggested that Osaka benefits from her huge media profile but does not like speaking to reporters.

“When you say I’m not crazy about dealing with you guys, what does that refer to?” asked Osaka.

“Ever since I was younger, I have had a lot of media interest on me, and I think it’s because of my background as well.

“I can’t really help that there are some things that I tweet or some things that I say that kind of create a lot of news articles or things like that … but I would also say I’m not really sure how to balance the two. Like I’m figuring it out at the same time as you are, I would say.”

During the exchange, she wiped away tears and pulled her visor over her eyes to hide her face before the moderator called for a pause to proceedings.

Osaka left the room briefly but returned to complete the news conference after regaining her composure.

The exchange highlighted the challenges Osaka faces as one of the world’s most famous athletes.

Osaka’s agent, Stuart Duguid, condemned the reporter’s line of questioning on Monday in a written statement.

“The bully at the Cincinnati Enquirer is the epitome of why player/media relations are so fraught right now,” said Duguid.

“Everyone on that Zoom will agree that his tone was all wrong and his sole purpose was to intimidate. Really appalling behavior,” he said.

“And this insinuation that Naomi owes her off court success to the media is a myth — don’t be so self-indulgent.”

The reporter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 23-year-old Japanese player has used her platform to call attention to mental health issues and said she has felt supported by her fellow athletes.

“The biggest eye opener was going to the Olympics and having other athletes come up to me and say they were really glad that I did what I did,” she said.

“I’m proud of what I did and I think that it was something that needed to be done.”

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