(Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images)
Naomi Osaka’s mixed emotions after each win and loss caused her to step away from tennis.
That announcement earlier this month comes after a U.S. open match with Leylah Fernandez, where she threw her racket to the court several times during the competition, Rolling Out reported. She also walked off the court without warning during the watch and was issued a warning for hitting the ball into the stands.
After the defeat, Osaka told the press that tennis no longer brought her joy, revealing that she may be taking a break from the sport.
“I feel like for me recently, like, when I win, I don’t feel happy. I feel more like a relief. And then when I lose, I feel very sad. I don’t think that’s normal,” said Osaka. “Basically, I feel like I’m kind of at this point where I’m trying to figure out what I want to do, and I honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match. I think I’m going to take a break from playing for a while.”
The news comes after she announced in May that she wouldn’t be participating in a news conference before the French Open, citing her mental health. She also revealed in a social media post that she had experienced “long bouts of depression” following a U.S. Open win in 2018.