Naomi Osaka’s blunt assessment about losing at the U.S. Open is gut-wrenching

Naomi Osaka didn’t beat around the bush about how much losing hurts her.

Naomi Osaka‘s return to her career hasn’t been without its challenges. After dropping a U.S. Open second-round match to Karolina Muchova, the tennis star transparently assessed what losing feels like.

Returning to typical activities after a life-altering event, like having a baby, can be grueling. Any progress made after that point is tremendous, and it’s especially awe-inspiring for athletes. However, it seems that Naomi Osaka may not be meeting the possible expectations she set for herself during her comeback.

All positive vibes after winning a first-round match at the U.S. Open just days ago quickly faded when Naomi was ousted in straight sets Thursday. Here’s what she told the media about how it feels to lose (See the 3:53 mark of the YouTube video below):

“It’s a little rough because I do take these losses really personally…It’s like a dramatic word, but, like, I feel like my heart dies every time I lose.”

“And it sucks a lot, but I’ve been trying to be more mature and learn and talk more about them.”

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Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka’s 3-hour French Open thriller left tennis fans in awe

What a mind-bogglingly good match from Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka.

Iga Swiatek, the world’s top-ranked tennis player, and Naomi Osaka might have played one of the most stressful second-round matches at the French Open fans have ever seen, and they loved every minute of it.

After a very tight first set that Iga won 7-6, Naomi stormed back to take the second set 6-1 and eventually went up 5-2 during the third set with a match point in sight.

That’s when Iga turned up the heat and WENT SCORCHED EARTH. She fully lived up to her “queen of clay” moniker and forced Osaka into some errors that eventually cleared a pathway for her to win the match with a 7-5 deciding set.

The match was such an amazing chess match that Naomi Osaka — who is returning from having a baby and showed impressive endurance — received a standing ovation from the crowd.

Tennis fans also loved how incredible the match was and showered both Iga and Naomi with praise. Here’s what they said:

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Naomi Osaka gave a brilliant answer for who is winning the Kendrick Lamar-Drake rap beef

Naomi Osaka gave a brilliant answer as to who is winning the Kendrick Lamar-Drake rap beef.

The rap battle going on right now between Kendrick Lamar and Drake is one for the ages, and tennis star Naomi Osaka has officially given her verdict on who’s winning.

In a very smart response, Osaka said that she’s a pacificist when it comes to these issues but also gave her opinion on who is winning in her mind.

Spoiler alert: it’s basically who everyone thinks has bested Drake in this beef.

Osaka is one of the best tennis players in the world right now, so she knows what it takes to win a competition. If this is how she feels this rap beef is going, we’re inclined to agree with her.

We’ll see if either artist comes out with any additional music, but Osaka is a clear winner in this situation either way with her very wise answer.

We’ll see if any other sports stars chime in with opinions in the weeks ahead.

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Naomi Osaka just announced she’s expecting her first child and everyone was so thrilled

Congratulations to Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka has been through so much over the last few years. She’s seen very high highs like when she lit the torch at the Tokyo Olympics. We’ve also seen her hit lows that have been so hard that she needed to step away from tennis.

She’s just been searching for her happiness and it’s hard not to root her on throughout her journey.

On Wednesday, though, she gave everyone something new to cheer for. Osaka took to Twitter to officially announce that she’ll be on a hiatus from tennis once again.

The reason why is awesome, though. It’s because she’s pregnant with her first child.

“These few months away from the sport has really given me a new love and appreciation for the game I’ve dedicated my life to. I realize that life is so short and I don’t take any moments for granted, everyday is a new blessing and adventure. I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future, the one thing I’m looking forward to is my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, “that’s my mom,” haha.”

What an incredible way to announce such incredible news. Good for Naomi, man. She continued to say she’ll be out of tennis for the next year and will return for the Australian Open in 2024.

Everyone skipped past that part, though. Mostly because the entire internet was so thrilled for her.

We’ll miss Naomi Osaka as she steps away from tennis again, but it’s totally for the best

Hopefully, she finds peace while she’s away.

It’s been relieving to see Naomi Osaka back on the tennis court after her brief hiatus.

Her return to the U.S. Open this week marked her first appearance at a Grand Slam tournament since the Australian Open earlier this year. She withdrew from the French Open to take a mental health break and also skipped Wimbledon after that.

The four-time Grand Slam champion played in the Tokyo Olympics for her home country of Japan in between that time, but it still wasn’t clear when she’d return to WTA play.

Seeing her back was great, not only because the game is better with her in it, but also because it seemed that maybe she’d finally gotten over the hump to rediscover her happiness in the sport again.

Now, after she spoke to the media following her loss in the third round of the U.S. Open to Leylah Fernandez on Friday, it’s clear that that isn’t the case.

Osaka got extremely emotional after the loss. But it wasn’t because of the loss, though — it was because she doesn’t know when she’ll be ready to come back.

Tennis just doesn’t seem to be bringing her joy anymore.

She tried to explain her feelings to us in her post-match media availability. And it was extremely hard to hear.

“When I win, I don’t feel happy. I feel more…relief. And when I lose, I feel very sad. And I don’t think that’s normal…I honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match. Sorry.” 

That’s the gut-punch right there. And it’s not because we’ll miss Osaka playing tennis. Sure, that’s part of it. As one of the best players in the world, the sport is always going to be better when she plays.

However, tennis is just a sport. It’s fun to watch, sure. But there are far more important things in life than tennis. This is one of them. She needs to be 100 percent healthy — both mentally and physically — and clearly, she’s not right now.

The scary part of it all is the physical part of it is the easier one. You know when an injury is healed. You can tangibly see it — you know when it’s performing better and when you’re ready to return.

But a mental setback? That’s not something you can measure. It’s not something you can see. It’s something that you always carry with you, and it can be extremely heavy.

So, look. We have no idea when Naomi Osaka is playing tennis again. There might be a greater than zero chance that she actually never plays tennis again. Who knows? She probably couldn’t even tell us that right now.

But if never playing again means she’s OK and that she’s found peace one way or another, then so be it. That’s truly the only thing that matters.

LOOK: Naomi Osaka wears a Sabrina Ionescu Liberty jersey in US Open practice

Just a couple of GOATS in the same airspace. Naomi Osaka wore a Sabrina Ionescu New York Liberty jersey prior to her US Open first-round match.

Sabrina Ionescu has become an icon in the world of women’s basketball. But her status is going worldwide thanks to her Nike affiliation and athletes in other sports recognize Sabrina’s superstar status.

Practicing for her first-round match in the US Open, No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka was wearing Sabrina’s New York Liberty home jersey. If the result of her match was any indication, Osaka might wear that light blue jersey before every match. Playing Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic, the Japanese tennis star defeated her opponent 6-4, 6-1.

Osaka has been ranked No. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. She is a four-time grand slam singles champion and is the reigning champion at the US Open and the Australian Open.

She has made news off the court, however, with her refusal to talk to the media after matches citing mental health reasons and she was forced to withdraw from the Olympics because of injury.

The US Open is in New York, so repping a Sabrina jersey in the Big Apple makes all the sense in the world.

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Naomi Osaka prometió donar ganancias del torneo de Cincinnati a Haití y en redes ya pelean por ello

El domingo, a través de Twitter, Osaka dio a conocer que donaría sus ganancias del toreno para la recuperación de Haití tras el terremoto.

Naomi Osaka está de regreso, después de que se retirara del Abierto de Tenis de Francia debido a problemas de salud mental y de que cancelara su participación en otros torneos de tenis desde entonces como Wimbledon. La volvimos a ver en las Olimpiadas de Tokio donde quedó eliminada en la tercera ronda.

Ahora, la tenista estadounidense está de regreso para participar en el torneo de Cincinnati y ha anunciado que donará las ganancias que reciba en dicho torneo para ayudar a los damnificados en Haití después de que la isla sufriera un devastador sismo de 7.2 grados. Hasta ahora, las autoridades haitianas reportan más de 1200 fallecidos, además de cientos de desaparecidos y miles de heridos que rebosan los hospitales.

Por si fuera poco, al país llegó también la tormenta tropical Grace que solo hará más difícil el trabajo de los rescatistas.

Además de la devastadora situación que viven en este momento los haitianos, Osaka tiene una razón muy personal para querer ayudar a esta nación caribeña. Leonard Francois, padre de Osaka, proviene de la ciudad portuaria de Jacmel, al sur de Haití.

El domingo, a través de Twitter, Osaka dio a conocer que donaría sus ganancias del toreno para la recuperación de Haití:

“Realmente duele ver toda la devastación que está sucediendo en Haití, y siento que realmente no podemos tomar un descanso. Estoy a punto de jugar un torneo esta semana y daré todo el dinero del premio a los esfuerzos de ayuda para Haití. Sé que la sangre de nuestros antepasados es fuerte, seguiremos aumentand”, publicó la tenista.

Twitter reacciona

Sin duda la causa de Osaka es noble. Sin embargo, y como suele suceder en redes sociales, las reacciones ante su anuncio han sido encontradas. Por un lado, algunos usuarios han salido a criticar que no done dinero de inmediato y que su apoyo dependa de cómo le vaya en el torneo. Algunos incluso cuestionaron qué sucedería si sale en la primera ronda.

Estos fueron los más críticos. La mayoría de los mensajes fueron más de agradecimiento, sin embargo también esos incluyen una preocupación: ¿cómo se asegurará Osaka de que su donación llegue realmente a la población?

Los tuiteros pidieron a la tenista que tenga mucho cuidado al momento de elegir cómo y a quién donará el dinero prometido. El principal temor es que la donación quede atrapada en corruptas manos políticas y jamás llegue a quienes lo necesitan.

Los usuarios tienen un punto ahí. El escenario que proponen no es sería nada nuevo, especialmente en un país en vías de desarrollo.

Sin duda quedan preguntas alrededor del gesto de Osaka. Pero lo que no podemos negar es que la intención es noble y que la tenista sin duda busca dar de su parte desde donde considera que puede ayudar mejor.

Portada: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

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Raiders DT Solomon Thomas offers words of support for Simone Biles ‘definition of strength’

Raiders DT Solomon Thomas offers words of support for Simone Biles

Every so often there are incidents in sports that transcend sports. Things that invoke a strong response from even those who may not even follow sports. And, unfortunately, especially in today’s political climate, those things can often be polarizing. Everyone seems to need to weigh in with some strong opinion one way or the other.

Recently, two professional athletes saw their choices to step away from competition for mental health reasons met such strong reactions which included considerable scrutiny.

First, was professional tennis player Naomi Osaka, who pulled out of a tournament, citing mental health issues. And most recently it was 19-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles who pulled out of team competition at the Olympics.

Biles’s decision drew even harsher scrutiny than Osaka, primarily because the talking heads felt righteous indignation due to Biles representing the US in the Olympics.

Raiders defensive tackle Solomon Thomas has been an outspoken advocate for removing the stigma placed on mental health. For him, what Osaka and Biles did was vitally important not just for them, but for others who may struggle with mental health and speaking out about it. He had some powerful words of support for the two athletes.

“I paid a lot of attention to that with Naomi Osaka speaking out,” Thomas said Friday… “And Simone Biles, obviously. They are at the top of all athletes. And for them to be able to have that strength and vulnerability to say that ‘hey, I’m going to take care of myself, that is unbelievable strength and just unbelievable in general.

“People understand the pressure that’s on those athletes. They legit have the weight of the world on their shoulders, especially within their individual sport. I feel like it’s extremely important for them to be talking about it on the stage that they’re on and I think it’s huge that they’re doing that. I’m just very happy about that. Happy to see the positive responses from people, from people supporting them.

“All the negative critics and everything that you hear, that’s the stigma that we’re fighting. That’s what we’re fighting every day. That’s why we’re talking this way — athletes are talking, people are talking, psychologists and therapists are all talking. because that stigma that we’re fighting. If it was an ankle injury, we wouldn’t be talking about it. But because it’s a mental health issue we’re talking about it because people don’t understand how serious that can affect an athlete, how serious that can affect a person.

“For them to talk about it on the highest stage of the world is so huge and I’m just very thankful for them talking out and I stand with them in every way. And I’m very appreciative of their strength and vulnerability. That’s the definition of strength if you ask me.”

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