Naomi Osaka earns assist after asserting break from sport at US Open

Retired athletes voiced their assist for four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka on Saturday after she stated she would take a break from tennis having misplaced her enthusiasm for competitors.
The world quantity three suffered a shocking defeat within the third spherical of the U.S. Open on Friday earlier than tearfully telling reporters she deliberate to take an indefinite break from the game.

Naomi Osaka says “I honestly don’t know when I’m gonna play my next tennis match” after her third-round loss on the #USOpen:
“I think I’m gonna take a break from playing for a while,” she added by tears.
Hard to observe. I hope everybody can present some compassion. pic.twitter.com/TsXmiWwzEQ
— Meredith Cash (@mercash22) September 4, 2021
“I feel like for me recently, like, when I win I don’t feel happy. I feel more like a relief,” stated Osaka, months after publicly disclosing that she had suffered from melancholy.
“Take all the time you need to recover, rest, and heal, @naomiosaka,” 12-time Grand Slam singles champion Billie Jean King wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “Sending you love and support.”

Take on a regular basis it’s essential to recuperate, relaxation, and heal, @naomiosaka.
Sending you like and assist.
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) September 4, 2021
Retired American tennis professional James Blake applauded her resolution. “Please do what is best for you @naomiosaka,” he tweeted on Saturday. “We want to see your extraordinary tennis again, but more importantly, we want to see you happy.”
Six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker responded to Blake in a quote retweet: “That’s right.”

That’s proper https://t.co/j7E6KoJA3h
— Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) September 4, 2021
The 23-year-old has ushered in a brand new dialog round psychological well being in skilled sport after she dropped out of the French Open amid a public row over obligatory press conferences on the Grand Slam, saying they took too nice a toll on her psychological wellbeing.
Osaka’s affect extends far past the court docket, as she introduced the Black Lives Matter protest to tennis’ worldwide platform a yr in the past, changing into a number one determine for athlete advocacy within the course of.
“Good decision. Young, trying to figure out life, how to win consistently, and as a huge celebrity athlete is hard! Trying to also be a change maker too. Exponentially harder!” four-time Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter Michael Johnson wrote on Twitter.
“If there was ever a need for an athlete to step away, this is it.”