The first set of the second round of Indian Wells 2022 Come in Naomi Osaka and Veronika Kudermetova, when the first, with a confused look and a clouded smile, approached the chair umpire, the British Clare Wood, to ask if she could do something to stop the inappropriate voices of the public.
The reason for this request is that, a few moments before, a fan had yelled at Naomi Osaka “you suck!”, which caused her to lose concentration in the match and a tearful farewell and a speech of sadness for being treated in such a way in Indian Wells.
Osaka came from having eliminated Sloane Stephens, recently champion of the WTA 250 of Guadalajara, in the first round match by sets of 3-6, 6-1 and 6-2. She was greeted with applause for her second duel of Indian Wells against the Russian Kudermetova, with the expectation of several fans who want to see her at the top of the competitions like when she won the 2018 US Open.
When the third game of the first set was played, the Russian defeated 2-0 Osaka and then the insult was heard. The Japanese woman approached Wood to ask her if she could do something about it, but she said no. According to the 2021 Officials Duties and Procedures rulebook, drafted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the chair umpires’ sole competence is “to do everything possible to control the public. In the event that spectators alter the progress of the match, the chair umpire must address them
respectfully and request their cooperation”, mentions rule number 17 of said document.
Wood made good on that point by repeatedly requesting silence from the Indian Wells stands, but eventually Osaka heard the insult and from there her performance spiraled out of control. He ended up losing the first set outright (6-0) and finally gave up the match 6-4.
The Japanese, former number 1 in the world, was unfocused during her breaks, almost reclining in her chair and shedding tears. A tournament supervisor also came onto the court after the first set to talk to the player, who was visibly upset by what had happened.
In summer 2021, Naomi Osaka told the magazine Time who has battled depression for two years, after his victory at the United States Grand Slam in 2018. In the 2021 season he did not agree to give statements to the press at Roland Garros and that led to his expulsion; his argument was that he wanted to prioritize his mental health. In the last six months, the Japanese has only played three tournaments.
After the loss to Kudermetova, the host of the tournament gave the microphone to Naomi, something unusual since that space is usually only for the winners. That space was necessary for Osaka’s reflection and to explain the reason for her tears.
“I wanted to thank you, I think I have cried enough in front of the cameras. To be honest, I’ve been booed before and it hasn’t bothered me, but do it here? I’ve seen a video of Venus and Serena (Williams) being booed here. If you have never seen it, you should. I don’t know why, but she got into my head and repeated herself a lot. I’m trying not to cry, I just want to say thank you and congratulations (to Kudermetova),” the 24-year-old Japanese explained.
The event of the Williams sisters to which Osaka alludes to occurred at Indian Wells 2001, where the sisters and their father, Richard, were booed after Venus withdrew with a knee injury when she was due to face Serena in the semifinals. The latter also received whistles and boos when she jumped onto the court to play the final against Kim Clijsters, as well as her family. After this event, the Williams sisters took more than a decade to return to the contest (Serena until 2015 and Venus in 2016).
About the whole event, Osaka’s opponent mentioned: “I didn’t hear what the lady said because she was very focused on my game, on my serve, I didn’t understand what she said, but after that moment, I saw Naomi and she started crying. ”.
The performance of the Japanese has suffered ups and downs related to issues of mood and mentality for a couple of seasons, as she recounted in a sentence after being eliminated from the US Open 2021: “I feel that, when I win, I am not happy, but which is more of a relief. And then when I lose, I’m really sad. I find myself at a point where I’m trying to figure out what I want to do.”
The Russian Kudermetova, whose next rival will be the Czech Marie Bouzkova, agreed to the third round of the tournament along with other figures such as Maria Sakkari, Anett Kontaveit, Elise Mertens, Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys. On the contrary, some favorites who left Indian Wells in the second round, like Naomi OsakaThey are Garbiñe Muguruza, Emma Raducanu, Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka.
