Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka has been one of the leading forces in the game. At a young age, the stakes riding on the Japanese star are higher than most of the top athletes around. 

Over the years, the popularity of the four-time Grand Slam winner has only risen. There are a number of players from the ATP and WTA circuit who hold the young superstar in high regard. 

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Naomi Osaka was heckled by a viewer in the stands at Indian Wells 2022 

Recently, Naomi was competing at the Indian Wells event and was heckled by a spectator in the stands. She was deeply affected by it and was in tears. Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov came out in support of the Japanese star.

“It’s a shame because people come out to watch great players like Naomi. I don’t know what the reason was. There’s no use in saying something like that. When you step out on the court and someone says, You suck, something like that, it sucks. It sucks to hear or feel that. It’s difficult, but unfortunately, we need to put up with it because there’s no controlling what other people do and what other people say.”

Coming to tennis, Osaka has not been performing up to her usual standards off late. Post the Australian Open last season, she had registered discouraging performances at the French Open and the US Open. 

Not been herself lately 

Even at the Australian Open this year, she was unable to defend her title. Despite the third-round defeat against Amanda Anisimova, Osaka took positives from her stint in Melbourne and vowed to remain grateful for the opportunities she gets.

On the other hand, Shapovalov has shown improvement at the slam level by reaching the semis at Wimbledon last year. 

Even at the Australian Open this season, he registered his best performance in Melbourne by making it to the quarterfinal. Sadly, he lost to Opelka yesterday in the Indian Wells Masters.

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