"So, I feel for Naomi, that obviously it upset her a lot, but it's always been something that's been part of sport as well:" Andy Murray

After Naomi Osaka was driven to tears by fan taunting during her Indian Wells defeat by Veronika Kudermetova, Andy Murray says tennis players have had to learn to be prepared for hecklers. A fan yelled, "Naomi, you suck," upsetting Osaka, who took a break from the 2021 season to focus on her mental health.

Naomi Osaka Went on to lose the match by 6-0, 6-4. Afterwards, she requested to speak to the crowd at the end, before her opponent took to the microphone. "Hi. I just wanted to say thank you. Yeah, I feel like I've cried enough on camera. But I just wanted to say," she expressed whilst wiping her tears.

"To be honest, I've gotten heckled before. Like it didn't really bother me. But heckled here , I've watched a video of Venus and Serena get heckled here and if you've never watched it, you should watch it," she reiterated.

Osaka Concluded by saying, "And I don't know why but it went into my head and it got replayed a lot. I'm trying not to cry. But I just wanted to say thank you and congratulations . Yeah, just thank you."

Read more: Australian Open 2022: Naomi Osaka to delete all her social media accounts after a heartbreaking loss

Three-times Grand Slam Champion Andy Murray expressed his thoughts on the situation

Murray has now spoken out about the matter. He admitted that while heckling should not be tolerated, players must be prepared to deal with it.

"It's a difficult one. 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 a throw-in or a corner kick and the crowd are just hurling insults at those individuals," the former World No.1 unveiled.

"I always think, how is that allowed? Like, you can't do that. Like, you can't do that. You know, if you're doing that to someone when you're walking down the street or in any other sort of work environment, you know, that's obviously not tolerated."

"I feel for Naomi, that obviously it upset her a lot and, you know. But yeah, it's always been something that's been part of sport, I guess, as well. So, you know, you have to, I guess, be prepared for that in some ways and be able to tolerate it because it does happen regularly across all sports," he added further.

Read more: Indian Wells 2022: 5 players who can take the trophy home (Female)

History repeats itself

The incident with Osaka isn't the first time Indian Wells has dealt with heckling.

Back in 2001, Serena and Venus Williams were supposed to meet in the semi-finals. However, Venus withdrew due to a foot injury. Later, Richard, their father, was convicted of influencing the outcome and determining who would advance.

Serena was booed heavily by the audience in the final, and both sisters boycotted the competition for 14 years as a consequence.