Naomi Osaka was brought to tears after being knocked out in her second round loss to Veronika Kudermetova in Indian Wells.
The Japanese woman, who missed part of the 2021 season to take care of her mental health, was taunted at the start of the match and that was no doubt a factor as she lost 6-0, 6-4 to the world No. 24.
A spectator reportedly yelled “Naomi, you suck” and Osaka complained to the referee, and when she went to serve at the start of the third game, she was visibly crying. Clearly overwhelmed, she lost the first set without winning a game before putting up a better fight in the second.
Osaka made the unorthodox decision to stay on the court and give interviews after the loss, stating that the incident reminded her of a video she watched of Venus and Serena Williams being abused at the same location in 2001.
The Williams sisters have boycotted the event, considered the biggest outside of the four Grand Slams, for 14 years after they were racistly abused 21 years ago. Speaking through tears on the court, Osaka said, “I just wanted to say thank you, I feel like I’m crying enough on camera.
“Honestly, I’ve been scolded before, it doesn’t really bother me, but when I get scolded here, I watched a video where Venus and Serena are scolded, and if you have never watched it, you should watch it, and I don’t know why , but it stuck in my head and replayed many times.”
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Osaka played her first tournament since the Australian Open in January, where she lost in the third round. The 24-year-old, who has won four Grand Slams, withdrew from the French Open and then missed Wimbledon last year after speaking out about mental health issues.
She returned to the US Open in September but said she would take another break after losing early, saying “When I win, I don’t feel happy.”
Russian Kudermetova, who is playing under a neutral flag due to her country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, said: “Naomi was reminded of what happened here with Serena a few years ago. She started crying because this is similar to what happened to Serena. But it does not matter. I know that she is strong, a great person. I think she’ll be fine.”