She is not yet back on the road to success: Former world number one Naomi Osaka lost in Indian Wells and was eliminated. Worse, however, was an insult, which caused tears to run down her face.
“Naomi, you suck” (translated into German: Naomi, you’re annoying), it sounded in the first sentence from the ranks. An insult that was too much for the Japanese Naomi Osaka. The insulting interjection completely upset the tennis superstar. Osaka then failed in the WTA tournament in Indian Wells and was eliminated in the second round. The four-time Grand Slam winner shed tears during and after the 6-0, 6-4 loss to Weronika Kudermetova (Russia/No. 21).
The 2018 tournament winner complained visibly emotionally to the referee about the insult. After the match, Osaka said the comment brought back memories of the scandal at the prestigious competition in California in 2001, when US stars Serena and Venus Williams were booed. Father Richard Williams had spoken of racist insults at the time.
Osaka is open about depression
“To be honest, I feel like it hasn’t really hit me when I’ve been disturbed. But here? I saw a video where Venus and Serena were booed here,” the crying Osaka said in the interview on the court. “I don’t know why, but it stuck in my head and was repeated many times.”
The former world number one, who speaks openly about her problems with depression, is committed to more consideration for the mental health of athletes.
