Japanese champion Naomi Osaka says flashbacks to a 2001 Serena Williams incident is what triggered her to break down mid-match on Sunday (AEDT).
Osaka stopped her Indian Wells match during the first set of a 0-6 4-6 loss to Russian player Veronika Kudermetova after a crowd member was heard yelling, “Naomi, you suck”.
The former world No.1 asked the chair umpire if she could address the crowd on the microphone. Osaka then began crying, and had to be consoled during a change of ends.
READ MORE: Carey falls just short of maiden Test century
READ MORE: Upset loss raises major headache for Roosters
READ MORE: Tom Brady’s shock retirement backflip
After losing the match, she explained why the sledge affected her so badly.
“To be honest, I’ve gotten heckled before, like it didn’t really bother me, but heckled here,” she said, as her voice trailed off.
“I watched a video of Venus and Serena (Williams) getting heckled here, 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.”
The Williams sisters were heckled by fans at Indian Wells in 2001.
Venus withdrew, citing a knee injury, from her scheduled semi-final against Serena shortly before it was due to begin.
When Venus and their father Richard took their seats to watch Serena in the final against Kim Clijsters, the crowd began booing.
As the match went on, fans jeered Serena. Their father said he was the target of racial slurs.
The American sisters boycotted the tournament for years before eventually returning.
In one instance, Serena called out one spectator in particular for using racial slurs during her match. He was booted out of Indian Wells by security.
“He needs to be removed and never come to a match again,” she told the chair umpire at the time (watch the video above).
“He’s a coward, he won’t even admit to who he is. He said some evil things, it was crazy. I couldn’t believe what came out of his mouth.
“As an African-American I’m not going to stand for it.”
Osaka was the 2021 Australian Open champion but then missed parts of the rest of the season as she battled mental health issues.
Men’s tennis champion Andy Murray threw his support behind the Japanese star.
Murray says he accepts hecklers are a part of professional sport, but he can’t understand why certain people choose to engage in the practice.
“I’ve often thought watching certain sports, I wouldn’t say I’ve often seen it loads in tennis… but if I watch a football or a soccer match and a player’s going to take throw-in or a corner kick and the crowd are just hurling insults at those individuals,” Murray said.
“I always think, how is that allowed? Like, you can’t do that.”
– with AP
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!