(The Hill) – Tennis star Naomi Osaka was brought to tears by a heckler during a match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. on Saturday, ESPN reported.
During her second-round match against Veronika Kudermetova, an unidentified woman in the stands shouted “Naomi, you suck.”
Osaka, who was visibly upset, stopped the match and asked the chair umpire if the heckler could be removed from the match and also asked if she could address the crowd, according to ESPN. Both requests were denied.
Addressing the crowd after losing the match, Osaka mentioned the heckling Venus and Serena Williams faced at the Indian Wells, Calif Open.
“To be honest, I’ve gotten heckled before, it didn’t really bother me,” an emotional Osaka told the crowd. “But [being] heckled here, I watched a video of Venus and Serena getting heckled here, and if you’ve never watched it, you should watch it. I don’t know why, but it went into my head, and it got replayed a lot. I’m trying not to cry.”
During the 2001 Indian Wells tournament, fans at the event loudly booed Venus and her father, Richard, during Serena’s final match at the tournament as some fans speculated their father was manipulating matches, after Venus pulled out of the tournament due to injury.
The crowd continued to jeer Serena through the match even after she defeated Kim Clijsters for the title. Both Williams sisters boycotted the event until 2015 and 2016 respectively, ESPN reported.
Osaka, a four-time grand slam champion, made headlines last year for taking time away from the sport to focus on her mental health.
Osaka dropped out of French and Wimbledon Opens before announcing she will take an indefinite break after her third-round U.S. Open exit last September, ESPN noted.
Osaka, who has used her platform to be vocal on social justice and police reform, returned to the circuit with an appearance at the Australian Open this January.
