Naomi Osaka was slammed by fans online for undergoing a bizarre mid-game manicure during her first-round loss at the French Open on Monday.
The four-time Grand Slam winner suffered a miserable afternoon at Roland Garros after committing 54 unforced errors on her way to a 7-6(1), 1-6, 4-6 defeat by world No. 10 Paula Badosa.
It marks the latest disappointing result for a player who has struggled for form since missing the entire 2023 season while pregnant.
Before she was sent packing from the French Open, Osaka sparked controversy on social media when she was seen getting her nails clipped mid-game against Badosa.
The 27-year-old had her long Sakura-themed nails cut by a Roland Garros official after dropping the first set on a tiebreak, suggesting they were causing her issues on the court.
Fans were far from impressed by her French Open grooming session, with one simply writing on X: ’embarrassing’.
Naomi Osaka was slammed by fans online for undergoing a bizarre mid-game manicure
The four-time Grand Slam winner had her nails clipped before crashing out of the French Open
Another commented: ‘Next time, better to focus in the game!’
A third concluded: ‘worried about the wrong things’.
‘This is ridiculous. Did she come to play tennis, play to win? All these extraneous things will put an end to her career,’ fumed a fourth.
‘Childish decision to wear them, embarrassing to have to cut them in the middle of a match, because they hindered her game,’ said another.
While one simply put: ‘It’s actually called, being unprepared’.
Osaka fought back the tears after being sent packing from the tournament at the very first hurdle on Monday.
The Japanese star was visibly upset afterwards during a press conference she briefly walked out of after welling up.
Osaka was emotional after her defeat to Paula Badosa in the first round of the French Open
‘I hate disappointing people,’ Osaka admitted. ‘Even with [her coach] Patrick [Mouratoglou], I was thinking just now – he goes from working with like the greatest player ever to like, what the f*** this is.’
Mouratoglou worked with Serena Williams for a decade between 2012 and 2022.
Osaka was also asked if it was getting harder to deal with losing, to which she softly replied ‘yes’ before expanding on her answer.
‘I think as time goes on I feel like I should be doing better,’ she conceded.
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Naomi Osaka blasted for ’embarrassing’ behavior during French Open defeat
AloJapan.com