“I would still rather be myself than anyone else,” Naomi Osaka breaks her silence after an emotional week
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Naomi Osaka
Tennis players are no strangers to hecklers. It’s been going on for ages. Nobody has remained untouched, from the Williams sisters and Russia’s Daniil Medvedev to four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka. Nevertheless, at the BNP Paribas Open this week, Osaka, who has been in the news for months owing to her mental health, was subjected to a horrific heckling incident.
A heckler reportedly shouted, “Naomi, you s**ck,” bringing the four-time grand slam winner to tears during her match against Veronika Kudermetova, and the event took a deep toll on her mental health. During the second game of the first set, Osaka took a break from playing to approach the chair umpire and request authorities to do anything about the person who was shouting at her. However, her wish was not reciprocated, and the Japanese was defeated in straight sets.
However, after staying silent for days, she unveiled her thoughts via Twitter on Friday morning where she wrote, “Very proud of myself for reaching a point in my life that despite the lows, I would still rather be myself than anyone else,” Indicating wellbeing of her mental health.
“I’ve watched a video of Venus and Serena get heckled here and if you’ve never watched it, you should watch it,”- Naomi Osaka
After losing the match, Naomi Osaka requested to speak to the crowd at the end, before her opponent took to the microphone. “Hi. I just wanted to say thank you. Yeah, I feel like I’ve cried enough on camera. But I just wanted to say,” she expressed whilst wiping her tears.
Further, she went on to address an incident involving the Williams sisters. Back in 2001, Serena and Venus Williams were supposed to meet in the semi-finals of Indian Wells. However, Venus withdrew due to a foot injury. Later, Richard, their father, was convicted of influencing the outcome and determining who would advance. Serena was booed heavily by the audience in the final, and both sisters boycotted the competition for 14 years as a consequence. “To be honest, I’ve gotten heckled before. Like it didn’t really bother me. But heckled here [Indian Wells], I’ve watched a video of Venus and Serena get heckled here and if you’ve never watched it, you should watch it,” reiterated Osaka.
Apart from all of these controversies, neither Naomi Osaka has specified when she would make her next tournament appearance, nor has she stated that she will be taking a break from tennis.
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