“Naomi, you suck.” “Naomi, you suck…”
Naomi Osaka (24) was badly hit by the nasty interjection of a spectator at the tennis tournament in Indian Wells. The incident completely threw her out of her rhythm and in the end led to a clear 0:6, 4:6 loss against the Russian Veronika Kudermetowa (24).
What happened: When Osaka lost at love for the first time in the first set, the ugly reputation came from the stands. Osaka, visibly shaken and fighting back tears, went to the chair umpire and asked that the fan be kicked out of the arena. She even wanted to address the audience via microphone, but both requests were rejected.
A WTA official then came up to her and promised, “If this happens again, we’ll find her.”
Although there were no further heckling of this kind, the match was over for Osaka. She was eliminated in straight sets in the second round.
Foto: Mark J. Terrill/AP
” data-zoom-src=”https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/als-sich-osaka-nach-dem-spiel-ans-und-wandte-wandte-brach-ehr-die-stimme-410de33aee8b43859170102e7f70bfb1-79436786/ image/2.image.jpg”/> When Osaka addressed the audience after the game, her voice brokeFoto: Mark J. Terrill/AP
Afterwards she went to the microphone and addressed the audience: “To be honest, I’ve been disturbed many times, but it didn’t really affect me. But here? I was watching a video of Venus and Serena being attacked here. And if you’ve never seen it, you should check it out. I don’t know why, but it’s in my head and has been repeated there many times. I tried not to cry.”
What Osaka is alluding to: Williams sisters Venus and Serena were booed during their games in 2001 in Indian Wells, California. Both then boycotted the tournament until 2015 and 2016. Serena said in an interview with actor Will Smith (53) in November: “Even when I returned 14 years later, it was very traumatizing.
It is only to be hoped that such incidents will not be repeated and that Naomi Osaka will quickly cope with the insult.
