'We love you!' - Naomi Osaka gets warm reception at Miami Open and says she started seeing therapist after Indian Wells
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Updated 24/03/2022 at 06:38 GMT
Naomi Osaka has said she has started seeing a therapist to help change her mindset after being heckled at Indian Wells. The four-time Grand Slam winner was greeted with chants of 'we love you' from the Miami crowd as she beat Astra Sharma in straight sets in the first round of the Miami Open.
Naomi Osaka
Image credit: Getty Images
Naomi Osaka said that speaking to a therapist has been helpful in changing her mindset and allowing her to reset.
Speaking in her first match since being heckled at Indian Wells last week, Osaka had pledged to not let anything get the better of her emotions and performance today.
The 24-year-old was subject to abuse from the crowd in California when a spectator shouted ‘Naomi, you suck’ after the opening game of her 6-0, 6-4 defeat against the No. 21 seed, Veronika Kudermetova.
The Japanese player was clearly affected by the abuse and held back tears in her post-match interview, saying that being heckled here brought up memories of Venus and Serena Williams being heckled in 2001.
She said she has started working with a therapist to deal with some of issues she faced in the Californian tournament.
"I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but I finally started talking to a therapist after Indian Wells," Osaka said.
"It only took like a year after the French Open (in 2021 when she announced she was taking a break).
"She kind of told me strategies and stuff. I realise how helpful it is. I'm glad that I have people around me that told me to, like, go in that direction.
"But, yeah, I was basically just remembering all the things that she told me to do, just to take deep breaths and reset myself when I need to."
Osaka's decision to step away from tennis last year to prioritise her mental wellbeing was something of a watershed for conversations about mental health among elite athletes.
After her straight-sets victory over Astra Sharma in the first round of the Miami Open, chants of ‘Naomi, we love you!’ rang around the court. Osaka was visibly touched by the sentiment, pausing to acknowledge the crowd in her post-match interview.
I just didn’t want to let anything bother me today. The last match I played wasn’t the greatest memory for me
Speaking on court, Osaka said: “I just didn’t want to let anything bother me today. The last match I played wasn’t the greatest memory for me.
“I just wanted to come out here and compete. And no matter if I won or lost, to just know that I have the best attitude I could.”
The match was over in one hour and 20 minutes as Osaka found her rhythm and her confidence.
The four-time Grand Slam winner completed the match without being broken on serve as she powered past world No. 96 Sharma.
She was dominant, only giving up two points behind her first serve. She passed up several good opportunities to break Sharma and take advantage of the tie, however, as signs of tension crept in.
An early break in the second set relaxed Osaka and she started to produce some of her best tennis, her power and placement just too much for a limited Sharma who always looked a step or two behind the ball on a rapid court.
Osaka currently sits at No. 77 in the world, after a year in and out of the game in 2021. Speaking in January after losing to American Amanda Anisimova in the Australian Open, she said that having the ‘greatest attitude ever’ was more important than the result of a match.
Osaka, who moved to America from Japan when she was three, trained on public tennis courts in Pembroke Pines in Florida, less than five kilometres from Miami Gardens where the open is held.
“I kind of consider this my home tournament. I grew up in Pembroke Pines then moved to Fort Lauderdale,” Osaka said.
“This is the tournament I loved coming to. Whenever I am out here I get to eat a lot of good Haitian food.”
Osaka will take on Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the next round on Friday.
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