INDIAN WELLS, California. Six months after her tears of agony in front of the press at the United States Open, Naomi Osaka broke out again on Saturday, this time in the middle of a match at Indian Wells and after being eliminated in the second round, injured by a public injury.

At the beginning of the year, on her return to the Australian Games after a terribly difficult year in 2021 psychologically, the 24-year-old young woman, plagued by recurring anxiety problems, said: “I just want to enjoy the court.

On Saturday, in the desert of California, where so far she had almost only good memories – especially her first title in 2018 – she was far from being given it. And the defeat, which was finally conceded with 6-0, 6-4 by the Russian Veronika Kudermetova, is not the primary reason.

These are the words, “Naomi sucks!” “, Came from the public during the 3rd match of the first round, something that made him dare. The Japanese could not hide her anxiety by going to sit in her chair to change sides.

She could not hold back a few tears as she complained about her behavior to officials. No consequence for the person who said those words, when it sometimes happens in the NBA that fans are excluded from the halls because of their verbal provocations or aggressive behavior.

The memory of Williams

Osaka kept its eyes foggy for the rest of the match. She struggled more to keep playing than to hope for a very hypothetical victory, given her apparent discomfort on the pitch. Especially since Kudermetova was able to stay calm despite the circumstances, even when her opponent, driven by a pride we have rarely seen in such difficulties, seemed to be back in the game.

Osaka finally lost its serve in the 7th game of the second set and the Russian did not miss the opportunity to end.

The latter looked very embarrassed at the stadium microphone.

“I did not hear what the lady (the spectator, the author’s note) said because I was focused on my game,” Kudermetova explained after the match. “But then I saw that Naomi had started crying. I did not understand what had happened. »

Quite unexpectedly, Osaka agreed to speak on the pitch after his defeat. An awesome trial exercise that brought new tears to her cheeks.

“To be honest, I feel like I was put in the past, it didn’t really bother me. But I saw a video of Aphrodite and Serena (Williams) fighting here. “If you have never watched it, you should see it,” he said painfully amid tears.

In 2001, during Serena Williams’ final victory over Kim Clijsters, Venus’s sister and their father Richard were attacked on the podium. For 14 years the two champions refused to return to play in this tournament.

“I try not to cry”

“I do not know why, but it fell on my head and stuck … I try not to cry. “I just have to say thank you and congratulations,” he concluded, winking at Kudermetova.

In September, after her premature elimination in the 3rd round of the United States Open, in which she was the defender of the champion, against the young Canadian Leylah Fernandez, Osaka burst into tears at a press conference.

He had previously retired from the Roland Garros tournament after refusing to answer questions from the media, revealing that he had anxiety problems, which are characterized by “several depressive episodes”.

She had bypassed Wimbledon before returning home to the Tokyo Games, where the Olympic cauldron was lit and expectations were high. However, he failed to win a gold medal as he was eliminated in the round of 16.

After her three-month break in the aftermath of the US Open, Osaka said she felt “as good as she could” at the start of the Australian Open, where she also defended her title but where she could not. to pass the 3rd round.

Back in 78th place in the world, still very fragile psychologically, the question arises again what will be his future on the field.