“Very Negative”- Naomi Osaka Apologises to Kids for On-Court Behavior at US Open
· Yahoo Sports
After a smooth first set for Naomi Osaka, Mertens broke back in the second. From there, Osaka’s unforced errors started piling up, her body language worsened, and her frustration became obvious. Mertens took advantage of the dip and won the set 6-3. After eventually surviving the match, Osaka admitted she had been too negative on court and apologized to the crowd
“Honestly, I didn’t feel like I played amazing, and it was really getting me down, like I was very negative on myself, so I’m really sorry about my behavior. For the little kids watching, I’m really sorry,” said Osaka in her on-court interview. “This is my favorite tournament, so I really wanted to play well in front of you guys. I’m really glad that I have an opportunity to play another match.”
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Osaka started well against Elise Mertens, taking the opening set and carrying that momentum into the second with an early break. But once Mertens settled in, the match quickly became far more complicated for the former World No. 1.
But once Mertens broke back, Osaka’s level dropped sharply. She was heard saying, “I’m f–king slowing down,” as the errors piled up, her second serve became vulnerable and her frustration increasingly showed in her body language.
Things spilled over into the third set. After being broken at 2-2, Osaka sat through the changeover with a towel covering her face, then screamed at herself after sending a ball into the net while trailing 3-2. Her frustration had clearly become part of the match, with commentator Mary Carillo also pointing to Osaka’s mental struggles as the contest began slipping away.
The match continued to slip away from Osaka in the third set, and her frustration boiled over toward her box. Coach Tomasz Wiktorowski quickly tried to redirect that emotion back toward Mertens.
“Fight with her, not with me. Fight with her. Come on,” Wiktorowski was heard saying from the sidelines.
That seemed to help. Osaka reeled off three straight games to move ahead 5-4 and finally began playing with the composure that had been missing earlier. She failed to convert three match points before finally closing out the match on her fourth.
The shaky performance was hardly an isolated one for Osaka in New York.
She committed 30 unforced errors against Anastasia Zakharova in the opening round and another 29 against Katerina Siniakova in the second. Against Mertens, that number climbed to 41. Across her first three matches, Osaka was broken 10 times, a worrying trend with tougher opposition waiting deeper in the draw.
Given that Osaka faces a player eyeing the No.1 ranking in the next round, the four-time Major champion needs to be at her best both in terms of her play and her mentality.
Naomi Osaka to Face Elena Rybakina in the Next Round
Osaka’s next test is significantly tougher. Elena Rybakina has yet to drop a set through wins over Thea Frodin, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Yulia Starodubtseva, showing few signs of the injury concerns that followed her Cincinnati Open withdrawal.
There is plenty at stake for Rybakina as well. A semifinal run would put her in position to take over the World No. 1 ranking, while even an earlier exit could still leave the door open depending on Aryna Sabalenka’s results.
Recent history also favors Rybakina. In their last meeting at the Canadian Open, she came back from a set down and a break deficit in the second to beat Osaka in the quarterfinals. That makes Osaka’s own serving issues even more important this time. Rybakina owns one of the most punishing serves on the WTA Tour, so giving away early breaks could leave Osaka with very little room to recover.
Osaka does, however, have one clear edge: history in New York. She is a two-time US Open champion, while Rybakina has never gone beyond the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.
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