Osaka serving, Photo Credit: Peter Menzel • CC BY-SA 2.0
On Twitter Naomi Osaka tweeted on Friday morning, “Very proud of myself for reaching a point in my life that despite the lows, I would still rather be myself than anyone else.”
Very proud of myself for reaching a point in my life that despite the lows, I would still rather be myself than anyone else.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) March 17, 2022
After her match ended against No. 21 seed Veronika Kudermetova, a tearful Osaka addressed the crowd on court and explained how the heckling brought back memories of an notorious incident in 2001 at Indian Wells when Serena Williams was booed and during a match.
“To be honest, I’ve gotten heckled before, it didn’t really bother me. But (being) heckled here, I watched a video of Venus and Serena (Williams) getting heckled here, and if you’ve never watched it, you should watch it,” Osaka told the crowd.
The incident with the Williams sisters brought on accusations of racism and allegations Williams’ father Richard fixed the matches for his daughters Serena and Venus.
The Williams sisters boycotted Indian Wells for 14 years until Serena returned to the event in 2015.
Osaka, ranked No. 78, is next scheduled to compete in the Miami Open.
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