“Yes, we’ve spoken to U.S.T.A.,” Francois said. “But there really wasn’t much offered, compared to the situation she was in with Japan.”

Osaka said the decision to represent Japan was not initially her own.

“In the beginning, it kind of wasn’t me that decided; it was along the way,” she said. “But I like the food and stuff, and the city is really cool, and everyone is really nice. And I’m really introverted, so I feel like I fit in more there.”

Although she is comfortable in Japan, Osaka is not fluent in Japanese, so the members of the considerable Japanese news media contingent in Melbourne had to communicate with her in their often limited English.

Aki Uchida, a freelance reporter covering the Australian Open for Smash Magazine, said Osaka’s personality — especially her sense of humor — was difficult for many Japanese to read. One comment Osaka made after her first-round win, calling the national training center in Japan “really small,” was met with groans.

“For us, it’s really tough to get to know her personality,” Uchida said. “Even in English, she keeps making some random jokes. She keeps making some jokes which we don’t understand. It’s tricky. We don’t know if it’s from different cultures, her personality, or could be generation gaps. When she says that the national training center is pretty small, we don’t get if that is just a joke, or her honesty and she might be a little bit arrogant, or just a difference of culture, something. If a Japanese had said that kind of comment, maybe we would get upset or think it was just a pure joke. But at this point, we are wondering. We don’t know.”

Despite that uncertainty, Uchida acknowledged the efforts Osaka, ranked No. 127 in the world, had made to endear herself to the Japanese media and public.