We may have seen the last of Naomi Osaka well for at least the rest of 2021. In a tearful press conference following her defeat at the hands of Leylah Fernandez Friday night at the US Open, she said she’s “going to take a break for a while.
”In a news conference following the defeat, Osaka admitted that “recently, like, when I win, I don’t feel happy. I feel more like a relief. And then when I lose, I feel very sad. I don’t think that’s normal...Basically I feel like I’m kind of at this point where I’m trying to figure out what I want to do, and I honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match,” Osaka said. “I think I’m going to take a break from playing for a while.”
Osaka has struggled with her mental health. She withdrew from the French Open before her second-round match in May, and skipped Wimbledon.