Naomi Osaka

Member of the crowd shouted 'Naomi, you suck' early in match · Osaka lost 6-0, 6-4 to to Veronika Kudermetova.

Naomi Osaka reduced to tears after being heckled in Indian Wells defeatMember of the crowd shouted ‘Naomi, you suck’ early in matchNaomi Osaka reduced to tears after heckling at Indian Wells – videoNaomi Osaka was reduced to tears after being heckled during her second-round defeat to Veronika Kudermetova in Indian Wells. The Japanese player, who missed parts of the 2021 season to look after her mental health, was jeered early and it was undoubtedly a major factor as she lost 6-0, 6-4 to the world No 24.A spectator reportedly shouted “Naomi, you suck”, with Osaka complaining to the umpire, and as she went to serve at the start of the third game, she was visibly crying. “To be honest, I’ve been heckled before, it doesn’t really bother me, but being heckled here, I watched a video of Venus and Serena getting heckled here, if you’ve never watched it you should watch it and I don’t know why, but it got into my head and it got replayed a lot.”How do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts?Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhones or the Google Play store on Android phones by searching for 'The Guardian'.If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.Thank you for your feedback.Osaka was playing her first tournament since the Australian Open in January, where she lost in the third round. The 24-year-old, who has won four grand slam titles, withdrew from the French Open and then missed Wimbledon last year after revealing her mental health issues.She returned for the US Open in September but said she would take another hiatus after an early loss, saying: “When I win I don’t feel happy.”Russian Kudermetova, playing under a neutral banner due to her country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, said: “Naomi was reminded of something that happened with Serena here a few years ago. Clearly affected, she lost the first set without winning a game, before putting up a better fight in the second.Osaka the incident reminded her of a video she watched of Venus and Serena Williams receiving abuse at the same venue in 2001.The Williams sisters boycotted the event – widely regarded to be the biggest outside of the four grand slams – for 14 years after being racially abused 21 years ago. We’d like to thank you for putting your trust in our journalism last year - and invite you to join the million-plus people in 180 countries who have recently taken the step to support us financially, keeping us open to all, and fiercely independent.In 2021, this support sustained investigative work into offshore wealth, spyware, the 6 January insurrection, the corporate actors behind the climate crisis, and the abuses of Big Tech. The new year, like all new years, will hopefully herald a fresh sense of cautious optimism, and there is certainly much for us to focus on in 2022 - the US midterms, the ongoing fight for racial justice, the next round in the struggle against the pandemic and a World Cup.With no shareholders or billionaire owner, we can set our own agenda and provide trustworthy journalism that’s free from commercial and political influence, offering a counterweight to the spread of misinformation. She started to cry because it is similar to what’s happened with Serena. But it doesn’t matter.