Facing an early departure from the Australian Open 2022, Naomi Osaka stated that she will temporarily cease using social media. Since taking a mental health break last year, this is her first major competition.
Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, was eliminated in the third round of the Australian Open on Friday. She lost in three sets to another American player Amanda Anisimova. Facing an early departure from the Australian Open 2022, Naomi Osaka stated that she will temporarily cease using social media. Since taking a mental health break last year, this is her first major competition.
After a long break, Osaka returned to the Australian Open in 2021 and fought hard against her new opponent. She won the opening set by 6-4 before falling to 6-3 in the second. Finally, she lost the third set in a tie break with a score of 7-6. According to reports, the loss drops her to 84th in the Women's tennis rankings. Her 84th position will be her lowest since August 2016, when she was still a rising talent.
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Osaka told reporters shortly after the match "I mean to me it's always a tennis match, you know what I mean? I feel like the outside stuff comes after. The first thing that I'll probably do when I look at my phone is delete Instagram and Twitter, and then I probably won't redownload it for a couple of weeks."
She went ahead to add "To me it's exciting. Not the loss itself, but, like the person I lost to because it's like showing the growth of tennis. I feel like now I'm in this position where if I lose to someone, it might make a headline, but I also think it kind of grows more superstars, and I feel like that's good for the game."
Anisimova stated after her victory over two-time Australian Open champion Osaka "Naomi is an absolute champion. So, I knew I had to really step up my game. "I think I started doing that in the second set. I'm so grateful I was able to play so well today and get this win. It means a lot."
The Australian Open isn't getting any easier for Anisimova. In the next round, she will face world number one and home favourite Ashleigh Barty.
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