Naomi Osaka lost her cool, then she lost her U.S. Open title defense. And afterward, a clearly-shaken Osaka suggested she will be taking another break from the game.
Teenager Leylah Fernandez pulled off arguably the biggest stunner of the tournament, rattling Osaka and storming back for a 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4 rally during which the champ slammed her racquet three times and left the court after the second-set tiebreak to try to compose herself.
It didn’t help.
An emotional Osaka got teary-eyed in her post-match press conference, admitting she’s “dealing with some stuff.” She said she likely will step away from the game and couldn’t say exactly when she’d be back.
“Basically, I feel like I’m kind of at this point where I’m trying to figure out what I want to do, and I honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match,” said…
