Anger, frustration and utter relief were the emotions Naomi Osaka felt after crashing out of the French Open.
Seeking a third consecutive grand slam title, the world No.1 slumped to a straight sets loss to Katerina Siniakova. A player who had never reached the last 16 of a major tournament until today. It was a far from a vintage performance from Osaka, who hit 39 unforced errors and won less than half (48%) of her second service points.
“I don’t want to say I feel depressed, but I do. I think it’s a natural part of life, especially if you train super hard for moments like these, and then you don’t perform how you want to.” Osaka said during her press conference.
“I feel like saying that “I’m depressed” is a very strong statement. Because I felt that way before, and it’s not as extreme as that.”
“I would just say I’m very disappointed in how I played, and I wish I could have done better. But I can’t turn time.”
It was the first time the Japanese player has played in a grand slam as the top seed. Osaka’s rapid rise to fame hasn’t all been perfect. As a naturally introverted person, dealing with a surge in attention was an issue. Osaka has previously talked about her struggles with fame and coping with expectations.
“I just feel like there has been a weight on me, kind of. And I know that’s because everything is sort of new.” She said. “I have played French Open before, but not in this circumstance or situation.”
It is for this reason why Osaka isn’t completely devastated about exiting Roland Garros. Looking at the bigger picture, if was her joint-best performance at the tournament in her career. She also reached the third round in 2016 and 2018.
“I think me losing is probably the best thing that could have happened.” She said.
“I think I was overthinking this calendar slam. For me this is something that I have wanted to do forever, but I think I have to think about it like if it was that easy, everyone would have done it.”
“I just have to keep training hard and put myself in a position again to do it hopefully.”
Osaka’s focus will now switch to the grass over the coming days. She will remain world No.1 for the foreseeable future, regardless of who wins the French Open title. The 21-year-old has continuously held the top position since January 28th.
“Grass season, I have never really done well there, either. So I guess I can only keep looking up.” She concluded.
