Naomi Osaka walks out of interview after shock Wimbledon loss

Naomi Osaka was on the verge of tears after a shock Wimbledon loss. But it was a boon for Ash Barty’s hopes of retaining No. 1 status.

Naomi Osaka was absolutely shattered.

A shattered Naomi Osaka walked out of her post-match press conference on the verge of tears after suffering a shock first-round loss to the unseeded Yulia Putintseva at Wimbledon.

The World No. 2 cut a devastated figure as she faced the press, giving short answers before facing one question too many about what led to her unexpected defeat.

“Can I leave? I feel like I’m about to cry,” Osaka told the moderator before walking off as journalists were told there would be no more questions.

Osaka, the defending US Open and Australian Open champion, lost in the first round of a grand slam for just the second time in 14 appearances as Putintseva took her head-to-head record against the Japanese star to 3-0 courtesy of a 7-6 6-2 victory.

It enhances Australia’s Ash Barty’s hopes of retaining the world number one ranking at Wimbledon.

Barty (6495 ranking points) entered the tournament with a slight lead over Osaka (6377) but the Japanese star will drop points after falling short of a third-round finish at the tournament in 2018.

Barty, who begins her tournament against China’s Zheng Saisai on Tuesday night, will gain points if she makes it further than the third round.

Karolina Pliskova, Kiki Bertens and Petra Kvitova can also catch Barty depending on results.

Naomi Osaka was crushed. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

OSAKA NOT THE SAME SINCE SPLIT

Osaka split with coach Sascha Bajin just a couple of weeks after winning at Melbourne Park in January and her record since her Australian triumph has been underwhelming, as pointed out by New York Times sports writer Christopher Clarey.

Naomi Osaka since winning the 2019 Australian Open

13-7
Two mid-tournament retirements
One semifinal
No finals
Two opening-round defeats

— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) July 1, 2019

However, Osaka said the break-up of her partnership with Bajin had nothing to do with her form slump. The 21-year-old said she simply didn’t play well enough on centre court but couldn't put her finger on why she’s struggled so much in recent tournaments.

“I mean, I just don’t think I played that well. But I wasn’t surprised because I’ve played her, like, twice already,” Osaka said.

“I wouldn’t blame my age on anything. I’ve done a lot of good things (in my career), I’ve done a lot of bad things. But I’m not the type of person that would say because I’m young I can get away with doing certain things.”

Osaka said nothing she was doing in practice indicated a poor performance was coming at Wimbledon and was at a loss to explain how she would rebuild her confidence after the tough loss.

“I don’t know. There are answers to questions that you guys ask that I still haven’t figured out yet,” Osaka said.

“I mean, the key for me was just having fun, I guess, like learning how to have fun, taking pressure off myself. I hope I can somehow find a way to do that.”