‘Nothing is perfect’ Rafael Nadal urges Naomi Osaka to be ‘ready for adversities’, expresses his disappointment over the heckler incident


‘Nothing is perfect’ Rafael Nadal urges Naomi Osaka to be ‘ready for adversities’, expresses his disappointment over the heckler incident

Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka

During her second-round match at Indian Wells, 2018 champion Naomi Osaka was the victim of on-court heckling which the Japanese star wasn’t prepared for. A spectator in the audience yelled, “Naomi, you s**k!” after which, Naomi looked rattled. She complained about the same to the chair umpire and was in tears during the changeover.

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As a result, Naomi lost all her focus and lost the match 0-6,4-6. Many players have sympathized with Naomi over the incident and have called out that such incidents shouldn’t be happening. But they have also acknowledged the fact that heckling is something that is very common.

21-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal spoke about the matter in the press conference after his third-round victory over Dan Evans. Nadal accepted that it is difficult to deal with negativity.

“As an athlete having to deal with those sort of negative words from the crowd could be difficult. To be honest, these kinds of questions are tough to answer,” Nadal said.

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‘I feel terrible about what happened but we have a great life’: Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal

Nadal added that he feels terrible for whatever happened but put a light on the fact that tennis players are very lucky to live a life that is wy better than the rest and despite everything, they have to be prepared for these petty incidents.

“I feel terrible about what happened. That never should’ve happened but in the real world, things like this happen. I feel very sorry for her but we have, in my opinion, we have a great life. We are very lucky people that we are able to enjoy amazing experiences because of our life. Because we are tennis players, we make money, and even if it’s terrible to hear, we need to be prepared for that,” he said. “We need to resist this kind of issue that can happen when you are exposed to the people and at the same time as a lot the people are supporting when something like this happens we need to accept and move forward.”

He further addressed Naomi and her mental issues and wished her a good recovery. He then concluded by saying that nothing is perfect and urged her to be ready for the adversities.

“I understand that Naomi has not suffered a lot with these kinds of issues and she has mental issues, so the only thing that I wish her is to recover well from that and wish her all the very best. But nothing is perfect, in this life and we need to be ready for the adversities,” he said.

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Also read: Novak Djokovic set to regain No.1 ranking after Daniil Medvedev’s early exit at Indian Wells