The Japanese Naomi Osaka, winner of four Grand Slam titles, said goodbye this Saturday in tears in the second round of the Indian Wells tournament, after losing 6-0 and 6-4 against the Russian Veronika Kudermetova in a match in which she was conditioned by an insult received during the first game by a fan.
As soon as the match began, Osaka, who fell to position number 78 in the world ranking, he heard an insult from the stands and asked the judge to intervene so that the person was removed from the track. However, despite many fans supporting Osaka’s request, the judge could not satisfy the Japanese because it was not possible to locate the person responsible.
Osaka was on the verge of tears during the breaks between games and lost the first set 6-0 with hardly any competition. She tried to react in the second set, but had to give up (6-4) against Kudermetova, who played high-level tennis and had the merit of not allowing herself to be conditioned by what happened.
At the end of the game, in the interview on the court, Osaka burst into tears, very hurt by what happened. With a voice broken by tearsthanked the many fans who showed their support during the match and acknowledged that the insult she heard destabilized her.