Naomi Osaka spoke to spectators following a match on Saturday, March 13, after someone in the crowd heckled her. The incident occurred after Naomi lost to Veronika Kudermetova, at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, during the first round of play, CNN reports.
A person in the crowd had yelled, “Naomi, you suck,” which caused the player to rightfully feel upset. According to ESPN, Naomi had asked the umpire if the fan could be removed. That request was reportedly denied. She then asked the umpire if she could use their microphone to address the crowd. ESPN noted that the umpire refused.
The umpire, supervisor, and Naomi then had a conversation, and it was promised that they would find the heckler “if it happened again,” ESPN reported. CNN notes that they had reached out to the tournament for comment regarding the heckler and if they ended up being removed. Teen Vogue has also reached out for comment.
Naomi went on to continue play, but ultimately lost the match. However, during a post-game interview, she addressed the crowd and explained why she was upset. “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. I don’t know why, but it went into my head, and it got replayed a lot. I’m trying not to cry,” she said.
