July 6, 2025
Naomi Osaka Criticizes Media Coverage After Early Wimbledon Exit
Osaka was fairly candid in her post-match remarks and spoke about how she doesn't like to disappoint herself or the people around her.
Naomi Osaka was among the ranks of many of the pre-tournament favorites to win Wimbledon, when she lost her match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on July 4; despite taking an early lead over her opponent, Osaka dropped the next three sets 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and has yet to reach the second week of a Grand Slam tournament since the birth of her daughter, Shai, in 2024.
As The Athletic reports, Osaka was fairly candid in her post-match remarks, speaking about how she doesn’t like to disappoint herself or the people around her, including her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, the former coach of Serena Williams.
“In Paris, I was very emotional. Now I don’t feel anything, so I guess I’d prefer to feel nothing than everything,” Osaka said after being asked about the difference between her early exit at the French Open and this one.
She continued, “I hate disappointing people. So even with Patrick, I was thinking this just now… But he goes from working with the greatest player ever (Williams) to, like, ‘What the f— this is?’ You know what I mean? Sorry for cursing, I hope I don’t get fined, but…”
Osaka also ruminated about what might have been, telling reporters that part of what frustrated her was that she felt as though she was ready to make a deep run at Wimbledon.
“I think it’s ’cause I actually thought I could play well, like, in general. Not saying I didn’t play well, but make a deep run here. I wanted to do better than I did before. Also, I felt like I was trying so hard,” Osaka said.
She also opened up a bit, telling reporters that she believes she sometimes criticizes herself too harshly, something she wants to work on.
“I’m just going to be a negative human being today. I’m so sorry. I have nothing positive to say about myself, which is something I’m working on,” Osaka said.
However, despite this admission, Osaka took to social media to air her grievances with the way that media outlets, including ESPN and tennis blogs, portray her following her losses, posting her criticism on Threads.
“Bro why is it every time I do a press conference after a loss the espns and blogs gotta clip it and put it up. Wtf, why don’t they clip my press conferences after I win? Like why push the narrative that I’m always sad?” Osaka wrote.
She followed that up, adding, “Sure I was disappointed a couple hours ago, now I’m motivated to do better. That’s human emotions. The way they clip me I feel like I should be fake happy all the time.”
On the Wimbledon Primetime show following Osaka’s loss, commentators Prakash Amritraj and former professional tennis player Lindsay Davenport discussed Osaka’s overall impact on tennis and what they wanted to see from her both on the court and in the press room.
Davenport, a former world No. 1 player who returned to the sport after the birth of her child, empathized with Osaka and offered her perspective that perhaps a change in Osaka’s routine could help her relax.
“She’s been back on tour for about 18 months now since her maternity break and she’s been playing full time, no real injuries. Yes, it’s hard to come back. I get it; I did it. But she’s not even in a position to be seeded, hasn’t really been able to break into that Top 30, which, if you’ve won four Grand Slams and been No. 1 in the world, that’s what you’re shooting for. This is probably a really good time for her to take some time, figure out why she’s playing and struggling in these close matches. Once you lose your confidence at 4-4 or 5-5 in sets, it’s tough to get it back,” Davenport said.
She continued, noting Osaka’s self-criticism buried in her press conference comments regarding her coach. “Something has to give there, whether it’s playing a little less or bringing her daughter on the road with her a bit more, maybe try a new coaching set-up. Who knows? It just seems like something’s got to change for her to have a little bit more success.”
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