TOKYO (Dispatches) - Japan’s great hope for tennis gold Naomi Osaka was beaten on Tuesday in the third round of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics tournament, saying she had not known how to cope with the pressure of the occasion.
The world number two was swiped aside 6-1 6-4 by Czech Marketa Vondrousova in a shock result which dealt a blow to Japan’s goldrush hopes.
Tokyo 2020 had marked Osaka’s first tournament since pulling out of Roland Garros in May, when she said she had been suffering from depression for almost three years.
Osaka had said then she would boycott news conferences to raise awareness of players’ mental well-being, but spoke to reporters after this defeat.
“I definitely feel like there was a lot of pressure, this time around,” she said. “I think it’s maybe because I haven’t played in an Olympics before and for the first one to be here was a bit much.
The tennis event has now lost both of its women top draw cards after world number one and Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty was beaten in Sunday’s first round.