"Why am I questioning whether she even cares to be on the court during her matches; Naomi if you read this, girl stand up" - Tennis fans react to Naomi Osaka's 1R exit at Cincinnati Open

Naomi Osaka's build-up towards the 2022 US Open went from bad to worse as she lost in the opening round of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati on Tuesday. She also crashed out in the first round of the Canadian Open last week.

The Japanese superstar has been experiencing one of her most challenging seasons on tour and her latest defeat left fans worried, to say the least, ahead of the US Open.

China's Shuai Zhang defeated Osaka 6-4, 7-5 in what turned out to be her final match ahead of the US Open. The four-time Grand Slam champion will now be unseeded at the US Open and is set to be handed a challenging draw in her bid for a third title in New York.

Osaka fought hard in the second set, breaking back as Zhang served for the match at 5-4 before leveling proceedings for 5-5. However, her serve was broken right back and Zhang served out the match soon after. Osaka has now lost three straight matches, all in straight sets.

Soon after Osaka's loss on Tuesday, a worried fan opined that the Japanese player seemed disinterested during the match.

"Naomi Osaka has really as of lately made it really hard to be her fan and stan. Why am I questioning whether she even cares to be on the court during her matches!?! What is this!? Naomi if you read this, girl STAND UP," read a post on Twitter.

Osaka has now won just one tour-level match since the Italian Open in May, and the World No. 39 is set to drop more ranking points after her round of 64 loss at the Cincinnati Open as she made the last 16 in the WTA 1000 event last year.

Meanwhile, another fan reacted to her loss by saying that she is too good a player to have such a lean patch and hopes to see her make an Andre Agassi-like comeback sooner rather than later.

"Really hoping Osaka has a Agassi like comeback in her career. Too talented for these kind of results," said another tweet.

Also Checkout:- Cincinnati Open 2022 Results

Here are a few more reactions to Naomi Osaka's early loss at the 2022 Cincinnati Open:

What happened at the US Open the last time Naomi Osaka lost in the first round in Toronto and Cincinnati?

Western & Southern Open - Day 4

Naomi Osaka's Cincinnati Open loss means this is the first time she has lost in the opening round of consecutive tournaments since 2018. Back then, she lost in the opening round of the same two back-to-back tournaments - the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open. However, she went on to win the US Open that year in what was her maiden Grand Slam singles title.

Osaka lost to Carla Suarez Navarro and Maria Sakkari at the 2018 Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open, respectively. She entered the US Open seeded 20th and snapped her losing streak with a first-round win over Laura Siegemund. In a dream run, Osaka defeated Julia Glushko, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Aryna Sabalenka, Lesia Tsurenko, and Madison Keys to reach the US Open final.

She then defeated Serena Williams 6-2, 6-4 in the final to win the title, dropping just one set throughout the tournament. Osaka will hope to find similar form as she enters the 2022 US Open in less than two weeks.