Naomi Osaka considers quitting tennis, opens doors after US Open loss

NEW YORK – US Women’s Open champion and world number three Naomi Osaka does not know when she will play her next tennis match, at the end of a news conference on Friday night, after losing to the 18-year-old. Old Canadian and unseeded Leila Fernandez in the third round, 7-5, 6-7 (2), 4-6, shed tears as she tried to explain how she handled winning, losing, and this particular loss in the third round. She ended the press conference by saying she thought she would take a break from playing “for a while”. It has been an unusual year for Osaka, who withdrew from both Wimbledon and the French Open this summer and watched the rippling effects of those decisions in court at the Tokyo Olympics and now at the 2021 US Open. After the match, Osaka described her comeback stats as “appalling” and said In general it “didn’t play well”. I logged 36 unintended errors overnight. Entering Friday’s game, Osaka won 16 consecutive Grand Slam matches, but was shaken when things started going Fernandez’s way on the field. With a chance to close the match on her serve in the second set, Osaka was instead broken when she missed a wide forehand. This forced a tiebreaker, in which she made five non-forced errors. More US Open: Carlos Alcaraz has risen to the big stage in tennis, bringing star quality and flair. Painful cry. After going down from 0 to 4, she threw her racket in frustration, but received no warning or violation of the law. Down 0-5, after another involuntary foul, she slammed her racket again, and once again, she received no warning or violation of the law. She walked out of the field between each set with a towel over her head. “Yeah, I’m really sorry about that,” Osaka said, when asked about the source of her emotions in the second set. “I’m not really sure why. Like, I felt like I was pretty — I was telling myself to be cool, but I feel like there was probably a boiling point.” As usual, I feel like I like challenges. But lately I get really anxious when things don’t go their way, and I feel like you can sense that. I’m not really sure why this is happening the way it is now. “But, yeah, that’s the underlying reason. You can kind of see that. I was kind of like a little kid.” When asked if she feels like she’s taken some steps – and whether the US Open as a whole, it’s a positive experience for her. – Osaka said she was hesitant. “Honestly, I’m not sure if I feel like I’ve made a move today or this tournament,” she said. “I feel like I’m not really sure what to say about the way I’ve played right now.” Near the end of the press conference, Osaka shared some thoughts on how she has dealt with her recent victories and losses. “How do I walk around saying this? I feel like lately, like, when I win, I don’t feel happy.” “I feel more relaxed. And then when I lose I feel very sad. I don’t think that’s normal.” Well, it’s very hard to explain. Basically, 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 the next tennis match.” World’s Top 3. She will face 16th seed Angelique Kerber in Round 4 on Sunday.