Defending US Open champ Naomi Osaka to take a break after emotional exit

Defending US Open champion Naomi Osaka lost her third-round match to Canadian teenager Leylah Annie Fernandez. The 18-year-old knocked out Osaka with a 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 win on Friday night.

An emotional Osaka stated after the match that she doesn’t quite know when she will step onto a court again and said she is going to take a break from tennis. 

“I honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match. I think I’m going to take a break from playing for a while,” said a tearful Osaka. 

She then spoke about her mental health issues and how it has affected her on the court in recent times. 

“How do I go around saying this? I feel like for me recently, like, when I win I don’t feel happy. I feel more like a relief. And then when I lose, I feel very sad. I don’t think that’s normal. I didn’t really want to cry, but basically, I feel like (crying). Normally I feel like I like challenges. But recently I feel very anxious when things don’t go my way, and I feel like you can feel that,” Osaka said. 

Osaka believed that she had served well in her third-round game against Fernandez but didn’t have a good game overall. She also dispelled reports of her having difficulties against left-hand players. 

The Japanese star moved to the third round of the US Open after she got a walkover against Olga Danilovic in the second round. Osaka said that she would’ve preferred playing the second-round match in preparation for the third round. 

Naomi Osaka has spoken publicly about her mental health problems in the past and even withdrew from the French Open earlier this year after being fined for not attending press conferences. She also did not take part in Wimbledon this year. 

Osaka is a two-time US Open Champion, having won the women’s singles competition in 2018 and once again last year. She has also won the Australian Open twice, with her second coming earlier this year. 

Another surprising loss on Friday was that of men’s third seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas. The 23-year-old lost his third-round match in the men’s singles event at the US Open to another 18-year-old, Carlos Alcaraz Garfia. The Greek player had reached the final of the Australian Open earlier this year, his first Grand Slam final, only to lose to Novak Djokovic.