‘Spoiled brat’: Piers Morgan blasts Naomi Osaka after US Open exit

British television personality Piers Morgan has blasted Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka following her shock US Open exit.

British television personality Piers Morgan has blasted Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka on social media following her shock US Open exit over the weekend.

 Osaka claimed she would take an indefinite break from tennis after being knocked out by Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez in the third round at Flushing Meadows.

It was a stunning comeback from the world No. 73, who claimed a 5-7 7-6 6-4 victory over the four-time grand slam champion on Saturday morning AEST.

Osaka repeatedly lost her composure, throwing her racquet on the ground twice and screaming after missing another point.

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An emotional Osaka told reporters after the match: “I honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match … I think I’m going to take a break from playing for a while.”

Morgan, who has been an outspoken critic of Osaka in the past, labelled the 23-year-old a “spoiled brat” following the defeat.

“People got very upset when I suggested Naomi Osaka may be a spoiled brat,” he tweeted.

“Here she is repeatedly smashing up rackets as she loses in the US Open.

“Then she cried again, and threatened to quit again.

“If a male tennis player behaved like this, we’d call him … a spoiled brat.”

Earlier this year, Morgan accused Osaka of playing the victim and adopting a strategy straight from the “Meghan and Harry playbook”.

“Are high-profile women of colour exempt from criticism regardless of their conduct? Sorry, I must have missed that woke memo!” Morgan wrote in June.

Ahead of the 2021 US Open, Osaka promised to readjust her mindset and celebrate her many accomplishments, saying she could no longer “burden” herself with the expectations of others.

The world No. 3 dropped out of Roland Garros after skipping post-match interviews with reporters, saying it caused her mental health distress.

When she was fined and warned future similar violations could bring greater punishments, Osaka withdrew from the tournament and skipped Wimbledon as well, her actions raising global awareness of the mental challenges facing world-class athletes.

US star shares abusive social media posts

American tennis player Sloane Stephens has become the latest prominent athlete to share the personal burden of what she said were the relentless and “exhausting” attacks on social media.

“I am human,” Stephens said on Instagram a day after being inundated by more than 2000 “messages of abuse/anger” following a third-round loss to Germany’s Angelique Kerber at the US Open.

“It’s so hard to read messages like these, but I’ll post a few so you guys can see what it’s like,” said Stephens, who voiced her concerns just as a number of other Black female athletes have also recently spoken out about the mental health toll high-pressure sports can take.

One of the abusive messages read: “I promise to find you and destroy your leg so hard that you can’t walk anymore @sloanestephens! … I hope you enjoyed your last moments on court today.”

Stephens, who won the US Open in 2017 and once ranked No. 3 in the world, commented: “This type of hate is so exhausting and never-ending. This isn’t talked about enough, but it freaking sucks.”

– with AFP