Naomi Osaka won her maiden Grand Slam trophy at the 2018 US Open, but it wasn't a happy win for her. She cried a lot due to the fan abuse she received.
The 2018 US Open final is probably the most infamous final of Grand Slam tournaments, as Serena Williams failed to beat up-and-coming Osaka. There wasn't a soul in the stadium who didn't want the American to win that match.
Still, to the amazement of everybody present, this young player from Japan was playing better tennis. Osaka outplayed Williams for the duration of that match, but the scene Serena created unfortunately stole the show.
Her clash with the umpire, Carlos Ramos, was one of the most controversial moments in recent history. The umpire handled himself well in that situation and, more importantly, according to the rules, which was confirmed by other umpires, but many fans still don't accept that and likely never will.
It created an unnecessary situation, during the match and also after it. Many fans abused Osaka on social media, invalidating the biggest success of her tennis career up until that point.
Instead of being celebrated as she should have been, Osaka was abused because people felt the umpire stole the match from Williams.
It had an impact on Osaka, who recently recalled the situation on the Tennis Insider Club podcast. She admitted that it was tough to endure and that she remembers reading a lot of hateful comments in the immediate aftermath of the situation.
"I went on social media the night after I won. I was reading a lot of people saying that I didn’t deserve to win. I remember I started crying a lot. Honestly, I never really processed it well. I just ignored it and kept moving on with my life."
Her admission to have never really processed it is interesting, given how long ago the match was played, and how much has happened in her life since. Still, the Japanese player is certainly in a much better state mentally right now.
She has a new approach and enjoys being back on the court. That wasn't the case in the past, but it's good that it's that way because everyone now has come around to appreciate Osaka and what she's been able to do.
"I didn’t see the worth I had as a human outside of tennis. I would lose a match and feel like my life is meaningless, like the only value I had was winning. I felt like I really needed to take a break to discover what I’m capable of or what I could give to the world."