- A visibly emotional Naomi Osaka exited Wimbledon in the third round on Friday.
- Later, she mentioned that she had nothing good whatsoever to say about herself.
- Osaka took the opening set but quickly struggled against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Naomi Osaka She struggled to hold back her emotions, describing herself as someone with a "negative mindset" after exiting the competition for the third time. Wimbledon .
Osaka advanced to the third round for the first time in seven years and appeared dominant as she claimed victory in the opening set against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
However, everything fell apart after that, as Osaka was eliminated with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat against Pavlyuchenkova, putting the 27-year-old in no mood to find any positives.
"I think I’m just going to stay in a negative headspace today — really sorry about that," said an upset Osaka.
I can’t think of anything good to say about myself right now, but it’s definitely an area I’m trying to improve.
I guess since it was my daughter’s birthday, I felt really happy about that part of the week. Besides that though, all day long I’ve been going over the game again and again.
Osaka struggles particularly badly with losses compared to many of her peers on the WTA circuit, and this instance was no exception.
"I guess it's because I really believed I could perform well overall," she said.
I'm not saying I played poorly, but making a strong advancement here was my aim. I hoped to perform even better than last time.
Plus, I really pushed myself. I actually popped a blood vessel in my hand without realizing it, so...
Osaka, with Nick Kyrigos once more seated in her player’s box, could be seen attempting to stay composed when trailing 0-3 in the final set. However, engaging in self-talk isn’t something she feels sets her apart from others on court.
"I believe every tennis player engages in self-talk during matches. It’s probably what makes us all a bit eccentric," she remarked.
I guess, personally, I can’t really blame myself. I was reflecting on those crucial moments during the match. She served exceptionally well at times, then followed up with a strong backhand—I didn’t have much control over how things played out after that.
Of course, I'll probably still feel guilty about this for a while.
The focus now shifts to the hard court season, where Osaka has traditionally performed exceptionally well.
"I believe for sure my connection with grass has gotten stronger, although personally, I still feel like I could have achieved better outcomes," said Osaka.
I believe that with every tournament, I gained a bit more knowledge.
I'm not sure if I’ve ever faced her anywhere besides hard courts. It might be the first time we’re playing each other on grass. Her style of play seems better adapted to this surface right now compared to mine.
Yeah, I’m relieved this is over, and I can’t wait for the hard court season.
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