Tearful Naomi Osaka addresses crowd at Indian Wells after heckler made her cry during tennis match

• Naomi Osaka became tearful over heckling at the BNP Paribas Open in California on Saturday.
• Osaka requested to speak to the crowd after losing to Veronika Kudermetova to explain her reaction.

Naomi Osaka cried during a recent match after being heckled by a spectator at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday.

Osaka, the former world No.1 and four-time major champion, was competing against Veronika Kudermetova in Indian Wells, California when ESPN reported that a spectator in the stands shouted "Naomi, you suck" during the first set. After the match, the 24-year-old requested to address the crowd to explain why she became upset, according to the outlet.

"To be honest, I've gotten heckled before, it didn't really bother me," Osaka said, ESPN reports. "But [being] heckled here, I watched a video of Venus and Serena [Williams] getting heckled here, and 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."

According to ESPN, Osaka stopped her match against Kudermetova after being heckled to ask the chair umpire if the spectator could be kicked out. Later, she asked to address the crowd with the umpire's microphone between games. Both requests were reportedly denied, ESPN reports.

The outlet reported that a supervisor spoke to Osaka on the court at one point, telling the umpire, "If it happens again, we're going to find him."

Kudermetova, who later won the tennis match, 6-0, 6-4, said she didn't hear the heckler because she was focused on the game but noticed Osaka crying after the interaction, ESPN reported.

Representatives for Osaka did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The incident involving Serena and Venus Williams happened at the BNP Paribas Open in 2001 when they, alongside their father Richard, were booed loudly by spectators as Serena played — and later defeated — Kim Clijsters, ESPN reported.

The outlet reported that both Serena and Venus boycotted the tournament afterward, with Serena declining to make an appearance until 2015 and Venus making her return in 2016.

During a November 2021 episode of Red Table Talk, Serena said returning to the tournament 14 years later was still "traumatizing."

"Talk about post-traumatic stress and mental anxiety. I remember sitting in the bathroom thinking, 'Wait, I'm not gonna go back. I just don't think I should do this. What if they start booing again?' It was really hard for me," she said.