(FreedomBeacon.com)- During her match against Veronika Kudermetova at Indian Wells over the weekend, tennis star Naomi Osaka broke down into tears after a heckler in the crowd shouted “Naomi, you suck!”
For those who may have missed this, Naomi Osaka had to deal with some nutcase person at Indian Wells yelling “Naomi YOU SUCK!” at her before the second game of her match vs Veronika Kudermetova #BNPPO22 @BNPPARIBASOPEN pic.twitter.com/FNJrw3099Y
— Andrew Jones (@TWDTV1) March 13, 2022
Osaka was trailing 3-0 when the heckler shouted out. As the crowd jeered, Osaka pleaded with the chair umpire to let her borrow the microphone and speak to the crowd. She assured the umpire that she wasn’t going to curse, she just wanted to say something that was “weighing on my heart.”
Naomi Osaka caught wind of the insane fan and was visibly and JUSTIFIABLY upset at this type of rude fan hackling that does not happen in tennis, AT ALL.
And Osaka rightfully complained to the chair umpire about this clown fan needing to be thrown out #BNPPO22 pic.twitter.com/6e12i9frRc
— Andrew Jones (@TWDTV1) March 13, 2022
The umpire didn’t permit Osaka to address the crowd. Instead, tournament officials said they would find the offending woman and toss her out of the match if she interrupted again. But the heckler didn’t continue.
After she lost the match, Osaka was allowed to gain access to the mic, so she addressed the heckler’s comment. She said she had been heckled before and it never bothered her. But this time, the heckler’s comment got to her.
She described watching a video of Venus and Serena Williams getting heckled at Indian Wells twenty years ago and here getting heckled there too “went to my head.”
Naomi Osaka asked for the microphone after her loss against Veronika Kudermetova. Here's what she said. pic.twitter.com/0Pj9WnNe4t
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) March 13, 2022
