Naomi Osaka casts doubt over her tennis future after defending US Open Champion is DUMPED out by teenager Leylah Fernandez in shock upset at Flushing Meadows as Japanese star reveals: ‘I don’t know when I am going to play my next tennis match’
- Naomi Osaka has been dumped out of the US Open in a shock result on Friday
- The defending champion suffered defeat by Leylah Fernandez 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-4
- Osaka later revealed she does not know when she is next going to play tennis
- The Japanese star had taken mental health breaks from two slams this summer
Naomi Osaka has revealed she will take a break from tennis after the defending US Open champion was dumped out of the competition by 18-year-old rival Leylah Fernandez at Flushing Meadows.
Fernandez, inspired by fellow 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz’s win over men’s third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, followed suit by producing a stunning upset of her own on Arthur Ashe Stadium. .
Osaka’s game is clearly not back to its best following her recent absence due to mental health, but she served for the match in the second set, only to suffer a 15-minute capitulation that saw Fernandez fight back to win 5-7 7-6 (2) 6-4.
Naomi Osaka has cast doubt over her tennis future after crashing out of the US Open
The defending champion was dumped out by teenager Leylah Fernandez on Friday night
It was the biggest win of the world number 73’s career and one that sets up a fourth-round meeting with 2016 champion Angelique Kerber.
The Japanese was playing her first grand slam since pulling out of the French Open and Wimbledon and this defeat will again put the spotlight on her.
‘Recently when I win I don’t feel happy,’ an emotional Osaka said after her defeat. ‘I feel more like a relief. When I lose I feel very sad and I don’t think that’s normal.
‘I didn’t really want to cry, but basically I feel like … I’m kinda at this point where I’m trying to figure out what I want to do and honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match.’
An emotional Osaka revealed: ‘I don’t know when I am going to play my next tennis match’
Osaka looked in decent fettle for the majority of the match, stealing the first set with a break at 5-5 and then putting herself in position to do the same in the second.
But this time Fernandez broke straight back at 5-6 and that is where the match turned on its head as Osaka lost her way over a defining 15-minute period.
The Canadian raised her level, but Osaka’s radar was off and splurge of unforced errors saw her lose the second-set tiebreak.
The Japanese had missed Wimbledon and the French Open for mental health reasons
That carried over into the early part of the deciding set as Fernandez immediately broke, with Osaka smashing her racket and later receiving a code violation for hitting the ball into the crowd.
The Japanese, the 2018 and 2020 champion at Flushing Meadows, regained her composure, but Fernandez was not fazed by the situation and saw out a famous win.
Fernandez said during her on-court interview: ‘I guess I wanted to stay on court a little bit longer and I wanted to put a show on for everyone here, an hour was just not enough for me on court.
‘From the beginning right before the match I knew I was able to win. I wasn’t focusing on Naomi I was only focusing on myself and what I needed to do.’