Naomi Osaka Has Meltdown at U.S. Open, Plans to Take Break From Tennis
Naomi Osaka Meltdown at U.S. Open ... I'm Taking a Break from Tennis
Naomi Osaka had a disastrous match Friday ... repeatedly losing her composure and ultimately losing her U.S. Open match ... and she says her future in tennis is now uncertain.
Naomi Osaka expressed her frustration with some racket smashing as the second-set tiebreak got away from her #USOpen pic.twitter.com/eYLXgt6GXO
— Meredith Cash (@mercash22) September 4, 2021 @mercash22
Osaka won the first set against 18-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez ... but things unraveled for her in the second set. She threw her racket 3 times and when she lost the set she walked off the court.
Leylah Fernandez upsets Naomi Osaka (3) at the #USOpen
— ESPN (@espn) September 4, 2021 @espn
This is Fernandez's first win over a top-3 ranked player in the world 👏 pic.twitter.com/Z4CikYwNIs
The defending U.S. Open champ returned and the crowd began to cheer for Fernandez. Naomi shockingly double-faulted right out of the gate and ended up losing the match.
Naomi broke down in tears during a post-match interview, making it clear how much she's struggling and saying she's taking a break from tennis ... "I feel like I'm at this point where I'm trying to figure out what I want to do, and I honestly don't know when I'm going to play my next tennis match." In other words, Osaka herself has now made it clear ... her future in tennis is uncertain.
As you know, Osaka recently pulled out of the French Open and took a pass on Wimbledon ... saying she was struggling with depression and anxiety.
