Naomi Osaka Shares Powerful Message After Heckler Incident
The tennis star has been very open about her mental health journey.
Naomi Osaka is celebrating her strength following an unfortunate incident with a heckler during a recent match.
The tennis pro shared a powerful message on her Instagram and Twitter Thursday night. "Very proud of myself for reaching a point in my life that despite the lows, I would still rather be myself than anyone else," she wrote.
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Her message came after she was brought to tears by a heckler who shouted, "Naomi, you suck," during her match at the Indian Wells Masters in California last Saturday.
In the post's comments section, fans quickly praised Osaka, who, in recent months, has been very open about her mental health journey. She first revealed she was struggling with depression and anxiety last year when she withdrew from the French Open after she was criticized for not wanting to participate in press conferences. In a post, she said her issues with depression started after the 2018 US Open (where she beat Serena Williams), and she's had "a really hard time coping" since.
This February, she opened up about wanting to be more present and learn to enjoy the special moments in life. In a post, she said that she felt "a deep sense of sadness for not having more fun" at the Olympics.
"Can't believe I was at the Olympics in Tokyo and I failed to consistently find the immense joy in that," she wrote. "I think that's gonna be really important in my life going forward, just enjoying the experiences and making the most out of the time no matter how short or long it is lol."
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And most recently, on March 5, the athlete shared a series of photos and clips of herself on Instagram, captioning the post, "Even though there will be hard times everything will turn out alright."
This article originally appeared in Harper's BAZAAR US