Naomi Osaka was knocked out of Wimbledon in the third round on Friday and was left fuming with the coverage of her press conference after her defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Naomi Osaka was emotional after her defeat at Wimbledon
Naomi Osaka was left fuming over the social media coverage of her press conference following her defeat at Wimbledon.
The four-time Grand Slam champion was knocked out from the tournament on Friday, losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a 3-6 6-4 6-4 match. Despite showing initial promise with straight sets victories over Talia Gibson and Katerina Siniakova in the first two rounds, Osaka once again failed to advance past the third round at the All England Club.
The California-based Japanese sensation continues her quest to add to her Grand Slam titles, with her last major win being the Australian Open in 2021. Her third-round appearance this month also marks the furthest she’s advanced in a Grand Slam since the 2022 Australian Open.
After her loss to the Russian player, the former world No. 1 appeared understandably downcast while addressing reporters. Clips from her emotional press conference were widely shared on social media, reports the Mirror.
Osaka expressed her frustration upon discovering parts of her interview circulating online, annoyed by the heightened attention she receives after losses, particularly when she appears visibly upset.
The 27-year-old took to social media platform Threads to express her frustration with the way sports media, particularly ESPN, highlight her post-match press conferences.
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She questioned: “Bro why is it every time I do a press conference after a loss the ESPNs and blogs gotta clip it and put it up. Wtf, why don’t they clip my press conferences after I win? Like why push the narrative that I’m always sad?
“Sure I was disappointed a couple hours ago, now I’m motivated to do better. That’s human emotions. The way they clip me I feel like I should be fake happy all the time,” the current No. 53 in the world added.
In her recent press conference, Osaka shared her numbness following her latest defeat. “In Paris, I was very emotional,” she admitted. “Now I don’t feel anything, so I guess I’d prefer to feel nothing than everything.
The 27-year-old has never reached past the third round of Wimbledon(Image: AP)
“It’s not like I can really even be mad at myself. I was thinking about the break points that I had. She hit some really good serves. Then she hit a backhand. I can’t really do that much about it.
“Obviously I’m still going to beat myself up a little bit. I’m just going to be a negative human being today. I’m so sorry. I have nothing positive to say about myself, which is something I’m working on.
“It was my daughter’s birthday so I was happy about that this week but other than that, it’s just today I’m just constantly replaying the match now.”
Looking ahead, Osaka is setting her sights on the upcoming U.S. Open, where she’s triumphed twice, including her most recent victory in 2020.
AloJapan.com