Naomi Osaka addresses crowd after abuse from heckler in Indian Wells exit
Following her straight-sets defeat to Veronika Kudermetova, Japan's four-time Slam winner took the mic having not been permitted to speak immediately after the incident.
Tennis
Naomi Osaka took the unusual step of giving an on-court interview after her second-round defeat at Indian Wells on Saturday (13 March).
The four-time tennis Slam title winner had been beaten 6-0 6-4 by Veronika Kudermetova with the match marred by an incident after the very first game when a woman in the crowd shouted, "Naomi, you suck."
Nearby fans asked that the heckler be removed with Osaka discussing the matter with chair umpire Paula Vieira Souza who said the guilty party could not be identified.
Play continued with Osaka then asking to borrow Vieira Souza's microphone after the next changeover with Kudermetova 3-0 up, saying, "I just want to say something. I’m not going to curse. I don’t curse. It’s just on my heart."
The Japanese spoke to the WTA supervisor Clare Wood who denied the request with Osaka tearfully returning to the court.
Despite staging something of a recovery in the second set, it was Russia's world number 24 - playing under a neutral flag in this event - who went through to the last 32.
After the winner was interviewed on court, Osaka stayed in the arena before emotionally telling the crowd, "I just wanted to say 'Thank you'. Yeah, 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 Venus and Serena (Williams) getting heckled here. And if you've never watched it, you should watch it. And I don't know why, but it went into my head and it got replayed a lot.
"I'm trying not to cry but... I just wanted to say thank you and congratulations [pointing at Kudermetova]. Just thank you."
Osaka was referring to the abuse received by both Williams sisters in 2001 which prompted them to boycott the event until 2015.
The 24-year-old star was originally given a wildcard for this tournament, where she claimed her first WTA Tour win in 2018, but late withdrawals saw her gain a place in the main draw by right.
Currently ranked 78 in the world, she has struggled on and off the court in the past year including her withdrawal from the 2021 French Open on mental health grounds.
The face of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Osaka was entrusted with lighting the flame at the Opening Ceremony.
In her first competitive appearance since pulling out of Roland-Garros, she suffered a third-round defeat to eventual silver medallist Marketa Vondrousova and recently expressed regret at "not having more fun" at her first Games.
She has only played sporadically on the tour since with Indian Wells her first tournament since her third-round exit from January's Australian Open at the hands of Amanda Anisimova.