Naomi Osaka Says She Began Seeing Therapist After Heckling Incident at Indian Wells

Naomi Osaka has revealed she began seeing a therapist following a heckling incident at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells two weeks ago. 

After her first-round win at the Miami Open, Osaka told reporters about her decision to seek out professional help.

"My sister seemed very concerned for me," she said. "I’ve been trying a lot of different things because I tend to internalize things, and I always want to do everything myself. Wim (Fissette her coach) said, ‘You hire a coach for tennis, for fitness. The mind is such a big thing. If you can get a professional to help you out 0.5 percent, that alone is worth it."

During the first set of Osaka's match with Veronika Kudermetova, a woman in the stands yelled, "Naomi, you suck!"

A short time later, Osaka asked the chair umpire if she could have a microphone to address the crowd. 

Per Alec Gearty of the New York Post, tournament officials determined they would eject the person if the match was interrupted for a second time. There wasn't any noticeable heckling after that point.

Osaka went on to lose the match 6-0, 6-4. She addressed the crowd after her loss, trying to fight back tears, saying that getting heckled after previous instances of heckling involving Venus and Serena Williams at that venue really bothered her:

The Williams sisters, along with their father, Richard Williams, were accused of match manipulation during the 2001 tournament at Indian Wells. Venus and Serena were scheduled to play in the semifinals, but Venus withdrew moments before the match with a knee injury. 

Per ESPN's D'Arcy Maine, Richard and Venus were loudly jeered by the crowd when they took their seats to watch Serena play Kim Clijsters in the final. 

Serena defeated Clijsters, and the jeers continued after the match, with Maine noting they "grew louder as Serena went to embrace Venus and Richard courtside."

Serena and Venus boycotted the tournament for years. Serena didn't play at Indian Wells again until 2015; Venus returned in 2016. 

In a February 2015 column for TIME, Serena wrote the jeers from the 2001 tournament contained an "under­current of racism" that was "painful, confusing and unfair."

Osaka has been open about her struggles with mental health over the past year. She withdrew from the French Open and announced she was "taking some time away" because of mental health issues after being fined and threatened with additional sanctions when she decided she didn't want to hold press conferences before and after her matches. 

After returning to participate in the Olympics and U.S. Open, Osaka announced after a third-round loss to Leylah Fernandez at the U.S. Open she was thinking of taking another extended break from the sport because it wasn't making her happy. 

Osaka returned for the Melbourne Summer Set event in January as a tune-up for the Australian Open. She lost in the third round of the Australian Open to Amanda Anisimova. 

Indian Wells was Osaka's first event after the Australian Open. She is scheduled to play Angelique Kerber in the second round of the Miami Open on Thursday.