Naomi Osaka calls Indian Wells loss her worst match ever

Naomi Osaka's tumultuous season persisted as she faced a first-round defeat at Indian Wells on Wednesday, prompting the four-time Grand Slam champion to express her apologies on social media.

"Worst match I’ve ever played in my life," the former world number one from Japan said in a post on Threads shortly after falling 6-4, 6-4 to Colombia's Camila Osorio.

"Wow, I’m so sorry to everyone who watched that."

Osaka, while addressing reporters, exhibited a somewhat more lenient perspective towards herself as she evaluated her initial match since being sidelined from the Australian Open due to the same abdominal injury that led to her withdrawal from the final in Auckland.

"I don't think it was too good on my end," Osaka said. "There were certain things that felt extremely off, because I could only start to practice serving after a certain amount of time and stuff like that.

"So I think given the situation, it wasn't that terrible. But I would have liked to win and continue playing the tournament."

Osaka's self-reflection may have arisen from her disappointment that a year which began with such promise—marked by her first WTA final since 2022—was marred by injury.

However, the situation was not entirely negative.

"Firstly, I'm not injured," she said. "I feel really good, which is, I guess, a positive to take out of this.

"Secondly, it feels really weird because I do think I did well in Australia. It feels like a little bit of a stopping/starting again."

Osaka, who won her first WTA title at Indian Wells in 2018, said her inability to control her shots gave her "not a good feeling whenever I would try to hit the balls that I feel like would normally go in."

She observed that she had opportunities during the match, including break points in the final game, which Osorio successfully defended to secure the victory.

Osaka remarked that her challenges with consistency in the previous year provided her with valuable insight.

"When I think about last year, I feel completely fine right now because it just feels like a little bump in the road," said the 27-year-old, who will be back in action in Miami later this month.

SportsLigue