Naomi Osaka reacts to viral clip of her harsh comments about her Wimbledon defeat
Naomi Osaka took to social media to address a now-viral clip of her postgame interview after her Wimbledon loss.
Osaka faced Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during the third round at Wimbledon Friday, July 4, ending in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss.
Following the match, Osaka expressed her disappointment in an interview, which was shared on social media by ESPN.
“I’m just going to be a negative human being today, I’m so sorry,” Osaka said during the interview. “I have nothing positive to say about myself, which is something I’m working on.”
Osaka shared the silver lining about her week with a sweet nod to her daughter, Shai, explaining, “It was my daughter’s birthday, so I was happy about that this week.”
“But other than that, today I’m just constantly replaying the match now,” she noted.
Osaka reacted to the viral clip on Threads, writing in one post, “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?” Osaka added. “Like why push the narrative that I’m always sad?”
In another post, Osaka said, “Sure I was disappointed a couple hours ago, now I’m motivated to do better.”
“That’s human emotions,” she wrote. “The way they clip me I feel like I should be fake happy all the time.”
Despite her reaction to the clip, Osaka has been showered with supportive comments from fans on social media, including in the comment section on a July 3 post captioned “Happy Shai day.”
“GIRL we love you. You’re going through hard time but you gotta remember who you are your NAOMI OSAKA !” one Instagram user wrote. “lil shai and so many girls look up to you! You’re are a dream athlete a kind caring woman. Honest and fearless. You’re an absolute queen, the Williams took a break and came back strong as ever maybe it’s time to get some care.”
The comment continued, concluding with, “I think all our jaws were on the ground to see you so sad and not able to see the light in yourself the light we all see.”
“You may have nothing positive to say about yourself but we have many positive things to say about you!” another comment read. “You can’t win everytime… don’t get too down on yourself, you’re still a legend. Hold that head up high, sis!”
One Instagram user shared an encouraging message for the tennis champ, writing, “Don’t be so hard on yourself Naomi, you are one of the greats. Come back stronger!”
Over the years, Osaka hasn’t shied away from getting candid about her personal life.
In 2021, Osaka announced that she wouldn’t be participating in press conferences at the French Open due to the effects on her mental health. She later pulled out of the tournament entirely, citing “bouts of depression” in her decision.
Osaka later penned an essay for TIME in July 2021, sharing why she decided to pull out of the tournament all together. At the time, she wrote, “I communicated that I wanted to skip press conferences at Roland Garros to exercise self-care and preservation of my mental health. I stand by that. Athletes are humans.”
She also stepped away from tennis for over a year when she welcomed her daughter, Shai, in July 2023. Per NBC Sports, Osaka made her return to elite tennis in January 2024 for her first competitive match since September 2022.