Former No. 1 tennis player Naomi Osaka sparked concern among tennis fans when she said, “I have nothing positive to say about myself” following her crushing loss at Wimbledon.
Osaka disappointed in early exit at Wimbledon
The four-time Grand Slam winner lost a three-set tennis match in the third round to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, on July 4 in the biggest of the major tournaments.
Despite her extraordinary success on other tennis surfaces and major tournaments, Osaka has never ventured beyond the third round on grass at Wimbledon. She lost to Venus Williams in the same round in 2017, Angelique Kerber in 2018, and now Pavlyuchenkova in 2025, according to The Tennis Gazette.
Osaka upset with the media’s portrayal of her
While Osaka hated her performance on the tennis court, she also conveyed her disgust with the media. She said she has become wary and weary of the press being fixated on the sadness she conveys at the press conferences following her losses.
“Why is it every time I do a press conference after a loss the ESPN’s ad blogs clip it and put it up?,” Osaka penned on the social media platform Threads.
“Why don’t they clip my press conferences after I win? Why push the narrative that I am always sad?”
Osaka was self-deprecating after her defeat
A forlorn Osaka expressed her devastation after another early defeat.
“In Paris (the site of the French Open), I was very emotional,” Osaka admits about the second Grand Slam tournament of the year that ended at the top of June. “Now I don’t feel anything, so I guess I’d prefer to feel nothing than everything.”
Osaka is yearning to regain her world-class form after giving birth to her child, Shai, in September 2023. She has since broken up with her boyfriend and the father of the child, rapper Cordae, according to Tennis.com.
The journey back to elite status has been arduous and painstaking and pockmarked with occasional setbacks. Fans believe it doesn’t help that Osaka has been self-deprecating following her losses, which includes a negative distinction of having lost six consecutive three-set matches.
“It’s not like I can really even be mad at myself. I was thinking about the break points that I had. She hit some really good serves. Then she hit a backhand. I can’t really do that much about it,” Osaka told the press.
“Obviously I’m still going to beat myself up a little bit. I’m just going to be a negative human being today. I’m so sorry. I have nothing positive to say about myself, which is something I’m working on.”
