Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Martina Navratilova weigh in on Naomi Osaka heckling at Indian Wells
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — While BNP Paribas Open officials said on Monday that they have closed the book on a heckling incident Saturday evening that brought Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka to tears, some of the sport's other big stars are continuing the discussion in post-match news conferences.
The tournament said that security was unable to locate, and therefore did not remove, the individual who shouted, “Naomi, you suck!” during a silent moment while Osaka was on court with Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova. The incident happened in the second game of the first set, and Osaka, who was visibly shaken by it, lost the match, 6-0, 6-4.
Still, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Gael Monfils and Daniil Medvedev are among the players who’ve addressed the heckling that brought Osaka to tears.
Though the heckling came from a single individual, with Osaka otherwise having overwhelming support from the crowd, conversations about the incident have not stopped, particularly since at least one other spectator has been removed from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for comments directed at other players during ensuing matches this week.
During American Reilly Opelka’s match versus Canada’s Denis Shapovalov inside Stadium 2 on Monday, the match was stopped and security approached a man who was shouting at Opelka. The man was not removed.
In the following set, play was once again momentarily stopped after more shouting at the players. Opelka and Shapovalov both asked to have an individual removed. Security approached and escorted out a different man, who was wearing a black shirt.
“Obviously, most of the people are great,” Shapovalov said. “Just certain individuals sometimes. It’s difficult. All you can ask is for them to be escorted out. If they do it accidentally, no problem. If they’re continuously or purposely doing something, I think it’s just not respectful for the players.”
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Osaka, 24, has been open about her struggles with mental health. She penned an essay for Time titled "It's O.K. Not to Be O.K." She withdrew from Roland Garros last spring in an effort to preserve her mental health, after she was fined $15,000 for skipping the news conference after her first-round victory.
Osaka later explained that she experienced anxiety before speaking with the media in Paris and revealed that she has suffered with bouts of depression since rising to fame by winning the 2018 BNP Paribas Open, followed by four Grand Slams.
The BNP Paribas Open has signage around Stadium 1 to remind spectators of proper etiquette during matches. Sheets of paper with a reminder of that etiquette were placed on the counters of at least some of the suites on Sunday and Monday.
Tennis icon Martina Navratilova, a Tennis Channel analyst, addressed the situation on-air, advocating for tournaments to remove fans who are disruptive and disrespectful.
“I would get rid of these fans,” Navratilova said. “I would point them out and I would get rid of them. But as a player you just somehow have to deal with it or don’t play forever or for now. Just take care of yourself first.”
Navratilova also said that it’s unfortunately part of the sport and that players cannot take that kind of behavior personally.
“I would just call them out,” the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion said. “The next time you get heckled say ‘Hey, say it to my face and let’s have a talk.’ It might be after the match, but I want to see you after the match. They are going to shut up, most likely they are not going to stand up and say that was me. So you just need to own it and get on the positive and get on the offensive in that situation and don’t take it personal, most of all.”
Players who have been asked about the situation at Indian Wells have had a similar response.
“If you go and watch a basketball match, for example,” Murray said, “and a player’s taking free throws, I would say like almost every basketball match I’ve been to one of the players has been heckled by the crowd as well. While it is wrong for those individuals to be doing it, the athletes, obviously, have to kind of be used to that as well or be able to deal with that too, even though it’s not pleasant.
“So, obviously I feel for Naomi,” Murray said. “That obviously upset her a lot, but yeah, it’s always been something that's been part of sport, as well. So, 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.”
Nadal, though empathetic to the situation, was more direct in his remarks.
“I mean, the easy answer for me is I feel terrible about what happened,” the Spanish tennis star said. “That never should happen. At the same time, as we like a lot when the people are supporting, when something like this happens, we need to accept and move forward, no?
“I understand that probably Naomi, she suffered a lot with her issues that she has, mental issues," Nadal said. "The only thing that I wish her is recover well from that and wish her all the very best. But the life, nothing is perfect in this life, no? We need to be ready for adversities.”
Andrew John covers sports for The Desert Sun and the USA Today Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com and find him on Twitter at @Andrew_L_John.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray talk Naomi Osaka heckling in Indian Wells
