"WTF, why push the narrative that I’m always sad” - Naomi Osaka lashes out at media over coverage of her heartbreaking Wimbledon exit

Naomi Osaka's Wimbledon campaign came to an early close on Friday, July 4, after she failed to make it past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. After her defeat, the Japanese tennis star lashed out at media outlets over the coverage of her heartbreaking loss.

Osaka entered the match against Pavlyuchenkova as a strong contender for the victory. The 27-year-old had claimed comfortable wins over the Russian in their last two encounters. On Friday, the former World No. 1 got her match off to a dominant start, clinching a 6-3 win in the first set. However, Pavlyuchenkova soon turned the tables, dictating the pace over the latter half of the game to take a 6-4, 6-4 win.

After the match, Naomi Osaka lashed out at media outlets like ESPN for only covering her press conference after she lost, writing on Threads:

“Bro why is it every time I do a press conference after a loss the espns and blogs gotta clip it and put it up. Wtf, why don’t they clip my press conferences after I win? Like why push the narrative that I’m always sad?”

Via @naomiosaka on Threads

Osaka added that the way the media portrayed her made her feel pressure to fake being happy constantly, writing:

“Sure I was disappointed a couple hours ago, now I’m motivated to do better. That’s human emotions. The way they clip me I feel like I should be fake happy all the time.”

Via @naomiosaka on Threads

A look back at Naomi Osaka's Wimbledon campaign

Osaka in action at Wimbledon (Image Source: Getty)

Naomi Osaka made her Wimbledon debut in 2017. Back then, the Japanese tennis star had managed to reach the third round of the grass-court Major. A year later, she successfully recreated this feat.

In 2025, Osaka began her time in England against Australia’s Talia Gibson. While it took her a minute to find her footing, the 27-year-old eventually walked away with a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory.

Up next, Osaka took on Czech World No. 81 Katerina Siniakova. This time around, the four-time Grand Slam winner was an absolutely dominant force on the court, clinching a 6-3, 6-2 win.

On Friday, in her third-round match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Naomi Osaka showed glimpses of her former self but was unable to close out a win, despite an impressive amount of support from the crowd at the All England Club.

With the Wimbledon Championships wrapped up, Osaka is now turning her attention to the hard-court season, where she is a four-time Grand Slam champion.