A spectator in the crowd heckled Naomi Osaka during her match against Veronika Kudermetova on Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
Following the first game of the match, a spectator appeared to yell out, “Naomi, you suck.” The four-time grand slam champion burst into tears on the court as a result of the remark, MSN reported.
During a break in the action, Osaka asked the umpire for a microphone to address the audience, according to the Tennis Channel broadcast, but the umpire denied the request. It is unknown whether the spectator was identified and removed from the venue.
Osaka would eventually lose in straight sets, 6-0 6-4.
At the very same tournament in 2001, the Williams family (Serena, Venus, and Richard) asserted thatthey were subjected to racist remarks from the Indian Wells audience.
Serena, then 19, went on to win the final, but she did not return to Indian Wells for another 14 years.
In a media conference before her next tournament, Venus Williams stated that she “heard whatever her father heard.”
Richard Williams told USA Today about some of the abuse he did receive “I had trouble holding back tears. I think Indian Wells disgraced America.”
A choked-up Osaka addressed the crowd after the match, bringing up the 2001 incident.
