Naomi Osaka was rattled by a heckler early in her second round match against Veronika Kudermetova on Saturday and never recovered as she fell 0-6, 4-6 at Indian Wells. After she was broken in the first game, a fan shouted “Naomi, you suck” and Osaka could later be seen wiping away tears.
After the match, the event’s 2018 champion addressed the crowd on centre court, saying the incident reminded her of when Venus and Serena Williams were booed at the tournament in 2001.
“I’ve been heckled before and it didn’t really bother me,” Osaka said while holding back tears. “But being heckled here, I’ve watched video footage of Venus and Serena get heckled here and if you’ve never watched it, you should watch it. And I don’t know why, but it went into my head and got replayed a lot. I just want to say thank you and congratulations,” she concluded.
Osaka has been open about her struggles with mental wellness in the past and took a break from the sport following her upset loss at last year’s US Open. She said she was in a great place emotionally coming into the tournament.
Kudermetova stayed locked in despite the drama and continued her hot start to the year, outplaying the four-time Grand Slam champion even when she regrouped in the second set.
Sabalenka shocked
Earlier in the day, world No.3 Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock loss in her first match, falling to Italian Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 3-6, 3-6 in the second round.
The hard-hitting Belarusian’s serve was broken four times and she committed 10 double faults on a hot day in the Southern California desert. Diminutive world No. 46 Paolini said: “I’m so happy. I didn’t expect this moment.”
Spaniard Paula Badosa kicked off her title defence with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) win over Tereza Martincova.
Wearing the colours of the Ukrainian flag, Russian-born qualifier Australian Daria Saville upset ninth-seeded Ons Jabeur 7-5, 6-7 (0-7), 6-4 in their second round clash.
Petra Kvitova needed every ounce of strength she had to battle past Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-4. Shelby Rogers beat 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko 7-5, 7-6 (9-7).
