Naomi Osaka has revealed that she is speaking with a therapist after bursting into tears when she was heckled by a spectator at the Indian Wells Masters earlier this month.
The tennis star complained to the match umpire after a man was heard shouting "Naomi, you suck", during her second round match against Veronika Kudermetova in California. She was seen in tears during a change of ends as she struggled to mask her emotions, and lost the match.
She is back in action at the Miami Open this week, having been given a wildcard to appear at both Stateside events following her tumble down the rankings as a result of inactivity. Last year, she pulled out of the French Open after revealing she had been suffering with depression, and also missed Wimbledon in the summer.
Osaka returned to compete at the Tokyo Olympics and also travelled to New York for the US Open at the end of August. However, following her third round defeat to Leylah Fernandez, she announced another break from the sport.
Speaking to the media after her first-round victory over Astra Sharma in Miami, the 24-year-old revealed that she has now sought professional help. "I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but I finally started talking to a therapist after Indian Wells," she said. "It only took like a year after the French Open.
"She kind of told me strategies and stuff. I realise how helpful it is. I'm glad that I have people around me that told me to, like, go in that direction. But, yeah, I was basically just remembering all the things that she told me to do, just to take deep breaths and reset myself when I need to."
Asked why she had decided to seek help, Osaka replied: "Honestly because my sister kind of, like, seemed very concerned for me. I don't know. Like I feel like I've been trying a lot of different things because I tend to internalise things, and I also want to do everything by myself."
Osaka has enjoyed a strong start to her Miami Open campaign, following up that victory over Sharma by dropping only five games in a resounding win against 13th seed Angelique Kerber.
Osaka's third round tie will be against another giant-toppler, after Karolina Muchova shocked Osaka's US Open conqueror Fernandez. The Canadian teenager was eventually beaten by British sensation Emma Raducanu in the final at Flushing Meadows.
The 24-year-old was delighter with her victory over Kerber, telling the crowd at the Hard Rock Stadium: "She's the highest seeded player I have beaten this season and I am really happy. I came into the match wanting to dictate and hopefully as I keep playing I will keep getting better."
