Naomi Osaka said she decided to seek therapy after her family was concerned about her tearful message this month at Indian Wells following a heckling incident.
“I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, but I finally started talking to a therapist after Indian Wells,” Osaka said Wednesday at the Miami Open, after she defeated Astra Sharma in two sets to advance to the second round.
“It only took like a year after the French Open [to talk to a therapist],” Osaka said, referencing her withdrawal last May from Roland Garros to tend to her mental health.
She also skipped Wimbledon last July. At the time, Osaka said she had “suffered long bouts of depression” since winning her first Grand Slam title in 2018.
“I realize how helpful it is,” Osaka said Wednesday about talking with a therapist. “I’m glad that I have people around me that told me to go in that direction.”
Osaka said she decided to seek therapy after her sister Mari, a former professional tennis player, “seemed very concerned for me.”
Osaka was the target of heckling at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., during her March 12 match against Veronika Kudermetova. She became rattled after a fan yelled, “Naomi, you suck!” and she ultimately went on to lose the match in straight sets.
The incident led to Osaka tearfully addressing the crowd over a microphone afterward, and she recalled a past incident at Indian Wells, when Serena Williams was booed during a match in 2001.
Osaka said Wednesday, “I think for me, the situation in Indian Wells, I’ve kind of thought back on it. I realize I’ve never been heckled. I’ve been booed, but not like a direct yell-out kind of thing. It kind of took me out of my element. I feel like I’m prepared for it now. I was kind of bracing myself before the match to just know that’s a thing that could happen now. I think I just needed to change my mindset a little.”
Naomi Osaka speaks to WTA Supervisor Claire Wood after being heckled during her match in Indian Wells, Calif. EPALast September, Osaka announced that she was taking a break from tennis “for a while.” She returned to the sport in January to compete in the Melbourne Summer Set.
The four-time major winner later pulled out of her Melbourne Summer Set semi-final against Kudermetova, and said at the time that her “body got a shock from playing back-to-back intense matches“ after her four-month hiatus.
Osaka will next face Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the second round of the Miami Open.
