On Saturday, Naomi Osaka was made to cry by a heckler who shouted at her during a California tournament.
Osaka was playing against Veronika Kdermetova at Indian Wells Masters, Indian Wells, California when a woman shouted, “Naomi! You suck!”
After the comment was made, the crowd laughed at the heckler.
Osaka asked Osaka if she could use her microphone to address the crowd shortly after the comment of the heckler.
“I just want something to say. I won’t curse. I don’t curse. It’s just weighing upon my heart,” Osaka said to the umpire.
Osaka was denied by the umpire, and Osaka had to wait until after the match to comment on the incident. Osaka lost to Kudermetova.
Osaka said, “I just want you to know, thank you,” as her voice trembled and she seemed to be wiping her eyes. “I feel like I’ve already cried enough on camera. Just wanted to let you know that I have been heckled before and it didn’t bother me.
Osaka said that being heckled at Indian Wells where she had seen videos of Venus Williams and Serena Williams being heckled “went into me and got replayed quite a bit.”
She explained to the crowd that she tried not to weep as her voice broke.
She said, gesturing towards Kudermetova, “I just wanted you to say thank you” and “congratulations”.
Osaka has considered a break from tennis due to the pressures in the tennis world.
Osaka revealed last year that she was thinking about a retirement from tennis.
“It’s like I feel happier when I win. Recently, it feels more like I am getting relief. In 2021, Osaka stated that he feels very sad when he loses.
Osaka previously pulled out of French Open just before the second round in order to take a mental break. She had announced that she would not be participating in Paris news conferences.
Before participating in the Tokyo Olympics, she sat out Wimbledon.
