Naomi Osaka’s US Open Run Ends In Second-Round Loss: ‘My Heart Dies Every Time I Lose’

Naomi Osaka’s U.S. Open run ended with a tough second-round loss to the Czech Republic’s Karolína Muchová on Thursday night.

After coming off a 6-3, 6-2 win over Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday, Osaka seemed to be in good shape for the next matchup. Two days later, a series of errors caught up to the 26-year-old as Muchová defeated her 6-3, 7-6(5) in the tournament, CNN reported.

Osaka is no stranger to Flushing Meadows, having won titles in 2018 and 2020. However, since returning from maternity leave following the birth of her now 1-year-old daughter Shai, she has yet to secure another win at the tournament.

The 26-year-old discussed the loss and shared insight on how she handles defeats.

“It’s a little rough because I do take these losses really personally,” Osaka told reporters following the matchup, according to Eurosport . “It’s like a dramatic word, but I feel like my heart dies every time I lose. I’ve been trying to be more mature and learn and talk more about them.”

Muchová broke Osaka’s serve twice in the first set and won the first game of the second set, making it five games in a row. Despite Osaka’s effort to tie the second set at 1-1 and her lead of 5-4 after breaking Muchová’s serve in the ninth game, she missed three set points and ultimately lost the set after Muchová broke back.

“I think, during the pressure moments, I got nervous and I don’t know if I just have to keep playing more matches and get used to that feeling, especially on a really big stage. Honestly, if I get past the disappointment, I feel pretty proud of myself to have gotten that many opportunities while still feeling like I could have played much better,” Osaka said.

She said she is still navigating life after pregnancy and working on getting back into her routine.

“Honestly, I feel like I’m coming back from pregnancy, but also it wasn’t like in 2022 I was like the best version of myself,” Osaka said, according to the New York Post . “So in some way, I had to catch up to that and then also I’m trying to pass it at the same time.”