MY ACCOUNT
An emotional Naomi Osaka says being targeted by a heckling spectator during her loss to Veronika Kudermetova reminded of abuse the Williams sisters were subjected to at the Indian Wells Open.
Osaka was reduced to tears as she crashed out with a 6-0 6-4 third-round defeat to 21st seed Veronika Kudermetova at Indian Wells on Saturday.
A member of the crowd could be heard shouting “Naomi, you suck” after the four-time grand slam champion had been broken in the first game of the match.
Osaka approached the chair umpire to report the incident and held further discussions with the court supervisor after being insulted again.
Serena and Venus Williams were subjected to verbal abuse at the prestigious tournament in the Californian desert back in 2001.
The legendary siblings’ father, Richard Williams, claimed he had been racially abused at Indian Wells, while Venus Williams said she “heard whatever he heard”.
Former world number one Osaka said while trying to hold back the tears after her exit: “I’ve been heckled before and it didn’t really bother me.
“But being heckled here… I’ve watched videos of Venus and Serena get heckled here and if you’ve never watched it, you should watch it.
“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 [to Kudermetova].”
Serena Williams boycotted the competition for 14 years before making her Indian Wells return in 2015.
