VIDEO: Naomi Osaka Brought to Tears by Heckler During Match

Tennis star Naomi Osaka became visibly upset and emotional on Saturday after a heckler in the stands shouted, “Naomi, you suck!” during a match.

The incident occurred at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden at Indian Wells, California, in the middle of Osaka’s match against Veronika Kudermetova. The heckler can clearly be heard in the video.

Osaka then stopped the action and approached the chair umpire to try and get the heckler removed.

After losing the match to Kudermetova, Osaka wanted to use the chair umpire’s mic to address the crowd about the heckler but was at least initially denied.

Undeterred, Osaka was eventually provided a mic and told the crowd of the “flashbacks” the heckler’s taunts had stirred up inside her.

Osaka has battled mental health issues her entire life. She claimed to have experienced “long bouts of depression” following her 2018 win at the U.S. Open. Then, in 2021, she stirred controversy by announcing that she would not attend press conferences during the French Open as a way to manage her stress and anxiety. Osaka, the world’s highest-paid active female athlete, eventually withdrew from the French Open and was fined $15,000.