Naomi Osaka ’s tennis match at the BNP Paribas Open over the weekend took an emotional turn…
The athlete was playing against Veronika Kudermetova at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden outside of Palm Springs on Saturday when a woman from the crowd suddenly screamed:
“Naomi, you suck! ”
The comment instantly affected Naomi, who has been open about her struggles with mental health, as she looked completely shaken in the middle of the court. She was quick to defend herself, requesting to have the particular person removed from the stands. However, the chair umpire Paula Vieira Souza responded that it would be hard to identify who it was that made the rude comment. Still, the tennis pro wasn’t giving up! During the break in the play after typically the second game, she asked this umpire if she could use the mic to address the crowd, saying:
“Can I borrow your microphone? … I just want to say something. I’m not going to curse. I don’t curse. It’s just weighing on my heart. ”
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A tearful Naomi then spoke with WTA Tour supervisor Claire Wood , who could be overheard telling the girl:
“If this happens again, we’re going in order to find him. ”
However, her request to be able to speak to the crowd has been denied, and the game continued. According to The particular Desert Sun , tournament officials told Naomi that they would find and remove the heckler if she interrupted the competition again. It was too late by that point, as Veronika ended up taking the game with a 6-0, 6-4 win.
Naomi Osaka asking chair umpire if she can borrow umpires mic to talk for you to the woman in the crowd. And her convo with supervisor. Naomi was crying #IndianWells pic. twitter. com/lehS7qi8EZ
— NoFirstName claycourtdal (@SMSTNS) March 13, 2022
Following often the match, Naomi was allowed to address the comment made earlier within the day – which rarely happens as players don’t usually speak after losing. Referencing when tennis icons Venus and Serena Williams experienced similar heckling at the same tournament, the Grand Slam Champion said with tears in the woman eyes:
“I feel like I’ve cried enough on camera. To be honest, I’ve gotten heckled before. It didn’t really bother me. But heckled here, I’ve watched a video of Morgenstern and Serena getting heckled here, and if you’ve never watched it, you should watch that. I don’t know why, it went into my head and it got replayed a lot. I’m trying not to cry. I just wanted to say thank you and congratulations. ”
Naomi Osaka asked for the microphone after her loss against Veronika Kudermetova. Here' s what she said. pic. twitter. com/0Pj9WnNe4t
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) March 13, 2022
As you may recall, the incident went down in 2001 when your sisters were supposed to go head-to-head in the semifinals that year, but Venus ended up withdrawing due to a knee injury before the match. Fans were upset at the time, thinking the injury had been fake, and their father, Richards Williams , fixed the games when his daughter competed against each other. Serena, who was only 19 years old at the time, seemed to be ultimately met with criticism and boos from the crowd. It was so bad that she did not participate at Indian Wells with regard to more than a decade.
As we mentioned before, Naomi has been open about your ex mental health challenges – which previously influenced her decision to help withdraw from the French Open last year:
“I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players, plus my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the exact tennis going on in Paris. I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not really ideal and my message could have been clearer. ”
This is just yet another example of how everyone should be conscious about what they say to other people. You never know how your words will affect someone.
Sending our love to Naomi.
[Image via Naomi Osaka/Instagram ]
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