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Naomi Osaka admits 'crying a lot' despite win over Elise Mertens in US Open third round - 'I felt like I was playing terribly'

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Naomi Osaka said she was "crying a lot" during a changeover in her US Open third round win over Elise Mertens. The 13th seed won 6-3 3-6 7-5 to set up a round-of-16 meeting with Elena Rybakina, but struggled with a recurring Achilles problem that required a medical timeout.

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Osaka called for her physio midway through the third set, before overcoming her No. 23 seed opponent in a close contest.

But the Japanese star admitted she was not happy with her performance levels.

"I wouldn't say it's a huge injury," Osaka said of the nagging issue in her post-match press conference. "I would say it's this ongoing problem that I've had since grass season.

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"I don't know why it hasn't gone away. I feel like I've done a lot of things in order to make it better, but maybe the time off wasn't enough.

"I'm not really sure what the reason is, but the medical timeout was to address that."

On her mindset during a changeover in the final set, she added: "When I put the towel over my head, I was definitely crying a lot. I think it was just from my end.

"I have no problem losing a match if I feel like I'm playing good, but I just felt like I was playing terribly, and this is my favourite tournament, and just a bunch of negative emotions that I felt like I didn't want to go out that way.

"It kind of reached a peak at that point. I felt like I had to let all that emotion go in order to continue trying and continue fighting. Once that changeover finished, I was able to move forward with a clear head."

Osaka was superior in a convincing first set, but Mertens fought back in the second and threatened to come out on top in a close third.

"I know she's a fighter," Osaka said. "I know she's a really good opponent. I just wanted to close it out as best as I could.

"So when the first set was over, I felt immediately she was going to fight really hard in this second set, just because I know her as a player, and I know there's like some patterns of mine that she would have gotten used to."

It is now five years since Osaka won her last Grand Slam: the two-time US Open champion won her second Australian Open in 2021 but has struggled to hit the same heights since.

She has shown signs of returning to her best form in the last year, reaching the semi-finals of the 2025 US Open and the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Asked how she will approach her match against second seed Rybakina, Osaka said: "I think I just want to have a fun match. I think this match was a lot emotionally, and I just want to have a fun time.

"When I think about having fun or playing point by point, that's when I play my best. I know she's one of the best players in the world, so I have no choice but to come with a high level. For me, that's when the most exciting tennis is.

"So I'm actually really looking forward to that match, because I've played her once before in Toronto (Rybakina won in three sets), and that was quite recent. I kind of know a little bit of her game."

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