US Open tennis champion Naomi Osaka is known more for her devastating ground strokes on the tennis court than anything else, but that doesn't mean that she's not perfectly adept at swatting trolls when the occasion demands it.
Still just 22 years old, Osaka has established herself right at the top of women's tennis. Currently ranked number 10 in the world on the WTA rankings, Osaka followed up her 2018 US Open triumph over Serena Williams (in tempestuous circumstances, as Serena had a now-infamous row with the umpire) by winning the Australian Open in 2019. In the same year she became the world number one.
Of course, all has been relatively quiet on the tennis front of late, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the difficulties of hosting sport while maintaining safety rules and social distancing measures.
Yet this week, Naomi Osaka has been forced to speak out over bizarre criticism from trolls, after she posted some pictures of herself in a bikini to social media.
One post, which Osaka captioned "shoe game proper" received a response from one commenter on Twitter who wrote, "I don't get why you would post half naked pics of yourself. Have some class... you don't need to do this"
Another commenter wrote, "Just because we like you as an athlete doesn't necessarily mean we like to see you almost naked! Not a pleasant sight tbh."
Thankfully, many more people were supportive of the tennis star, urging her to ignore the comments.
"Naomi's just being herself & growing into the confident woman she's meant to be. That clearly bothers you but it's hardly a Naomi problem." One fan wrote, while another added, "Naomi. You know it... ignore the “judgers” aka the “ no-lifers” . They do not not have the fortitude within themselves to develope their own persona. So the non-personas judge others. Very sad. Ignore them. Keep growing and changing. :)"
Osaka subsequently took to Twitter herself to call out the comments herself.
"I just wanna say it’s creeping me out how many people are commenting @ me to maintain my “innocent image” and “don’t try to be someone your not”. You don’t know me, I’m 22, I wear swimsuits to the pool. Why do you feel like you can comment on what I can wear?" She wrote.
It remains unclear whether the US Open will go ahead this year, as the BBC reports that the United States Tennis Association hopes to confirm within ten days whether or not the tournament can go ahead behind closed doors.
