The heckling was another uncomfortable moment for Osaka, who revealed last year that she was suffering from depression.
The heckling was another uncomfortable moment for Osaka, who revealed last year that she was suffering from depression.
Rafael Nadal sympathized with Naomi Osaka on Monday after she shed tears at Indian Wells, but believes players should learn to deal with hostile fans.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka was in tears on Saturday by a heckler as she crashed out of the tournament after losing in straight sets to Veronika Kudermatova.
It was another uncomfortable moment for Osaka, who made mental health headlines last year after revealing she was suffering from depression.
Nadal said he felt sorry for Osaka after his third-round 7-5, 6-3 win over England’s Dan Evans on Monday, who suffered the “Naomi, you sock” taunt during Saturday’s loss Was.
However, the 21-time Grand Slam king said he believes players should learn to be prepared for an adverse environment.
When asked about his opinion about athletes being subjected to negative comments from the crowd, Nadal replied: “It’s hard to answer questions like these.”
“The simple answer to me is ‘I feel really bad about what happened, which should never have happened.'”
However, Nadal said, “in the real world,” abuse occurs from the audience.
“Even if it sounds awful, we need to be prepared for it, no?” he said.
“We need to oppose issues like this that can happen when you come out in front of people, no?”
“I understand that maybe Naomi suffered a lot from this, maybe she had mental (health) problems. The only thing I want is for her to recover from this and wish her all the best.
“But life, nothing in this life is perfect, no? We need to be prepared for adversity.”
Nadal’s comments echoed remarks from Scottish star Andy Murray, who was asked about Osaka after being singled out on Sunday.
“Obviously I feel for Naomi, that apparently it bothered her a lot,” Murray said.
“But it’s always been something that’s been a part of the game, I think, as well. So, I think, you have to be prepared for it in some way and be able to tolerate it because it’s in all sports. Happens regularly.”