Naomi Osaka was taken aback by a harsh statement from a fan after being forced off at the China Open.
In what was a clash of the grand-slam-champions-who’ve-just-changed-their-coaches, Coco Gauff eventually prevailed.
Naomi Osaka had struggled to string any wins together this season, coming into Beijing with only a handful more victories than defeats.
An encouraging campaign saw Osaka break an unwanted record of failing to win after losing the opening set, after she advanced past Yulia Putintseva in round two.
At two sets a piece in her fourth round clash against Gauff, Osaka couldn’t carry on for the decider, citing back pain.
Naomi Osaka responds to brutal fan assessment
Osaka’s new partnership with Patrick Mouratoglou has started overwhelmingly positively with three consecutive wins for just the second time this year.
The 26-year-old has taken time away from the WTA Tour several times over the years for mental health reasons, as well as the birth of her daughter most recently.
Both a fan-favorite but simultaneously a target for criticism, Osaka shared on Threads, that she was recently labelled a ‘fluke’.
Aggrieved, Osaka immediately set the record straight with a brutal comeback.
She said: “I just saw someone call me a fluke. How is it possible to be a fluke with 4 grand slams, lighting the Olympic torch, beating multiple top 20 opponents and being close to top 50 the year after giving birth ? Foh, you couldn’t even touch one of my accomplishments with your fingernail.”
Naomi Osaka needs to keep this momentum going into the Australian Open
As a result of her ranking drop, Osaka has faced some tremendously tough draws recently. While this was different in Beijing, Osaka had to play both Jelena Ostapenko and Karolina Muchova at the US Open.
A thrashing of the tenth seeded Latvian was quickly overshadowed by a stunning Muchova display, who eventually reached the semi-final.
Muchova has managed to do what Osaka hasn’t, with the Czechian hitting the ground running after only returning to the tour in June.
Osaka revealed her early ambitions for 2025 are to be seeded at the Australian Open – a tournament she’s won twice.
While not beyond the realms of possibility, Osaka will need to build on this encouraging run in Beijing and hope her back injury doesn’t linger.
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