Naomi Osaka at the 2021 US Open
Former World no.1 Naomi Osaka shared that she is undergoing therapy after her early exit from the Indian Wells competition. However, it wasn’t because of the disappointing result but what she endured during the match from a spectator in the stadium
Naomi Osaka was in the midst of her second-round match at the Indian Wells against Veronika Kudermetova. A spectator yelled “Naomi, you s**k,” early on in the first set. The four-time Grand Slam champion couldn’t hold back her tears. She ended up losing the match in straight sets 6-0, 6-4.
She is currently participating in the Miami Open. After her first match where she defeated Astra Sharma 6-3, 6-4, she threw light on her horrific experience at the Indian Wells. She admitted that it wasn’t the “greatest memory” and she shared that the heckling made her “finally” begin therapy.
Naomi Osaka has missed a fair amount of action owing to her mental health issues. She has already taken a couple of breaks during her tumultuous but noteworthy career.
Before the start of the 2022 French Open, she announced that she won’t be conducting her mandatory media assignments. She didn’t hold her press conference after winning her first match. She was fined $15,000 and threatened with increasing amounts of fines and expulsion. Her announcement was met with widespread criticism. The following day she announced her withdrawal from the competition citing mental health issues.
She made her comeback in the Cincinnati Open where she defeated the impressive Coco Gauff in the second round but lost in the next round to Switzerland’s Jil Teichman.
After a disappointment at the US Open 2021 where she failed to defend her title, the Japanese once again took a break. She reasoned that she was not getting happiness out of her wins.
Osaka returned to action in the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set 1 tournament as no. 1 seed and made the semis before withdrawing due to an abdominal injury.
She has been playing more frequently since the Australian Open 2022 but results haven’t gone her way as yet. Her fans, however, will be happy that she is at least playing consistently and hope the therapy sessions will help the champion player to bounce back to her best.
Meanwhile, Osaka has progressed to the Round of 32 stage of the Miami Open after beating Angelique Kerber 6-2, 6-3.
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