Andy Murray tells Naomi Osaka that she has to “tolerate” criticism after a viewer brought her to tears by yelling “you suck” at her during the Indian Wells loss.
- Naomi Osaka lost in straight sets to Veronika Kudermetova in Indian Wells.
- She was upset when a viewer yelled at her, “Naomi, you suck.”
- Andy Murray says tennis players should ignore yelling
Andy Murray says tennis players have had to learn to be prepared for criticism after Naomi Osaka was brought to tears by crowd ridicule in her loss to Veronika Kudermetova in Indian Wells.
Osaka, 24, who took the time to take care of her mental health in the 2021 season, was upset by the crowd’s chants of “Naomi, you suck.”
She complained to the referee and lost the match 6-0, 6-4. She even asked the referee if she could use their microphone to address the crowd at some point in the match.
— I need to talk to my boss. What do you want to say?’ – answered the judge in the chair.
“I just want to say something,” Osaka replied. “I’m not going to swear. I don’t swear. It just crushes my heart.”
However, the umpire, who decided to discuss the emotional situation with WTA Tour supervisor Claire Wood, declined Osaka’s request to address the crowd. She said that providing a microphone to a player during a match was unprecedented.
Andy Murray, pictured with Naomi Osaka after a workout in 2018, told her she should learn to tolerate bullies during her tennis matches.
Osaka was brought to tears by criticism during Saturday’s defeat in Indian Wells.
24-year-old (left) lost to Veronika Kudermetova (right) at the tournament in Indian Wells
“It’s difficult,” Murray said after losing the tournament to Alexander Bublik. “I often thought I watched certain sports, I wouldn’t say that I often saw it in tennis – I know it happened, but I don’t think it’s that common in tennis – but if I watch a football match and a player is going to take a throw-in or take a corner and the crowd is just throwing insults at these people, I always think, like, you know how that’s allowed? You cannot do this.
“If you are doing this to someone while walking down the street or in any other work environment, it is clearly unacceptable.
“I myself played tennis in a certain atmosphere, for example, in the Davis Cup, away from home, especially where the atmosphere is tense and sometimes people say something, and it’s not so comfortable.
Murray said that sometimes players are forced to play in uncomfortable situations.
Murray insisted that yelling is not normal – it’s just that players need to learn how to deal with it.
“People who come to watch obviously want them to be there and support the players, not make things difficult for them. I don’t know, but it’s also something that has always been part of the sport.
“If you go and watch a basketball game, for example, and a player shoots free throws, I would say that almost every basketball game that I have been to with one of the players has also been criticized by the crowd, and although this is not right for those people who do it, athletes also need to get used to it or be able to handle it, even if it’s unpleasant.
“So, I sympathize with Naomi, obviously it upset her a lot, but it has always been part of the sport. So you have to be prepared for it in some way and be able to tolerate it because it happens regularly in all sports.”
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