Naomi Osaka is sad ... we're sad, too

SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE

Naomi Osaka searches for answers after her first-round defeat at Wimbledon.

For five months, Naomi Osaka was at the pinnacle of women's tennis. But she soon found out that being constantly in the spotlight isn't all its cut out to be.

Last week, she dropped to No. 2 behind new No. 1 Ash Barty, after two successive early losses, including one at the French Open followed by the Birmingham (England) tourney, seen as a warmup to Wimbledon.

Then yesterday, (July 1) she was ignominiously ousted in the first round of Wimbledon to the 39th ranked player in the world, Yulia Putinseva, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

The press conference after the match was somber, to say the least. It was painful to watch.

“I wouldn’t blame my age on anything,” Osaka said. “I’ve done a lot of good things, and I’ve done a lot of bad things, but I’m not the type of person that would say because I’m young I can get away with doing certain things.”

"I feel like I should have been able to play well today, because I wasn't practicing bad," said Osaka, who dropped to 0-3 against Putinseva, including a loss on grass at a tuneup tournament last month. "You never know what's going to happen during matches."

Then, she was asked how she grapples with her newfound stardom, Osaka turned to the media coordinator and said, “Can I go? ‘Cause I feel like I’m about to cry.” She abruptly got up and left. 

Osaka, who trains and lives in Florida, plays for Japan, where she was born. She gained her Nol. 1 rank after winning the U.S. Open last summer followed by another Grand Slam victory in Australia.

The first sign that she was not enjoying her top spot came shortly thereafter. She replaced her long-time coach, choosing she said to play for the joy of playing instead of for the ranking and the trappings that go with being No. 1. That rank also brings pressure to play her best all the time.

Clearly, the answer she gave to one questioner may reflect her current mood: “There are answers to questions that you guys ask that I still haven’t figured out yet.”

Watch the post-game press conference:

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