Naomi Osaka, a Japanese professional Tennis player lost the second round at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California on Saturday after losing 6-0, 6-4 to Veronika Kudermetova. She was brought to tears in the second round at Indian Wells not because she was defeated but because the four-time Grand Slam singles champion suffered verbal abuse in the game.
Osaka reportedly complained to the umpire after a spectator yelled “Naomi, you suck,” and she was obviously crying as she went to play at the beginning of the third game. She dropped the first round without winning a game, noticeably impacted, before making up a greater fight in the second.
About the incident, Noami stated that it reminds her of the 2001 event at Indian Wells involving Venus and Serena Williams. “To be honest, I’ve been verbally assaulted before and it doesn’t affect me, but being verbally assaulted here, I remember seeing a video of Venus and Serena being verbally abused here, and it bothered me.”
If you haven’t seen it, you should, and I’m not sure why, but it became stuck in my head and was replayed a lot,” Osaka said. She continued, “I feel like I’ve cried enough on tape.”
Furthermore, Osaka was competing in her first competition since losing in the third round of the Australian Open in January. After admitting her mental health issues, the 24-year-old quit the French Open and then skipped Wimbledon last year. She has won four grand slam titles. She returned for the US Open in September, but after an early defeat, she announced that she would take another break.