Naomi Osaka will take an indefinite break from tennis and says she doesn’t know when she will play next after a shock exit from the US Open.
The defending champion lost 5-7 7-6 (2) 6-4 to 18-year-old Leylah Fernandez on Arthur Ashe Stadium having served for the match in the second set.
Holding back tears in her post-match press conference, she said: “This is very hard to articulate. 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. Sorry.
“I think I’m going to take a break from playing for a while.
“How do I go around saying this? I feel like for me recently 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. I didn’t really want to cry.
“I guess we’re all dealing with some stuff, but I know that I’m dealing with some stuff.”
When asked about her racket throwing she responded: “I’m really sorry about that. I’m not really sure why. I felt like I was pretty…I was telling myself to be calm, but I feel like maybe there was a boiling point.
“Like normally I feel like I like challenges. But recently I feel very anxious when things don’t go my way, and I feel like you can feel that. I’m not really sure why it happens the way it happens now.”
