Naomi Osaka has responded to suggestions comparing her career trajectory with Emma Raducanu’s, offering a heartfelt reaction to a distressing incident involving the British player. Ahead of their first-round match at the Citi DC Open on July 24, 2025, Osaka addressed parallels drawn between their journeys as young Grand Slam champions who faced subsequent struggles. Both reached stardom early—Osaka at 20 with her 2018 US Open win, and Raducanu at 18 with her 2021 US Open title as a qualifier—but their paths diverged due to injuries and personal challenges. Osaka, reflecting on Raducanu’s experience, expressed sympathy after witnessing what she called the “saddest video I’ve ever seen,” referring to an emotional moment during Raducanu’s second-round match against Karolina Muchova in Dubai earlier this year.
In that incident, Raducanu stopped play and was seen crying on court after spotting a stalker in the stands, a man she recognized from a prior encounter, leading to his removal and a ban from Wimbledon applications. Osaka, speaking in her post-match press conference after beating Yulia Putintseva, said, “Honestly, I feel like for her, it must be really tough, because I read online, like, she had a stalker… I saw in Dubai or something there was—honestly, I really feel sad for her, because that video was, like, one of the most saddest videos I’ve ever seen.” She added a hope that Raducanu has “a lot of really good people around her,” showing empathy for the pressure the 22-year-old faces, including media scrutiny and the stalker ordeal, which prompted the WTA to offer extra security at Indian Wells.
Osaka’s comments came before Raducanu defeated her 6-4, 6-2 in their Washington encounter, a match where Osaka struggled with seven double faults. Her response wasn’t a direct rebuttal of the comparison but a compassionate acknowledgment of Raducanu’s off-court struggles, contrasting with her own break for maternity and mental health. This sentiment has resonated, with some interpreting it as Osaka distancing herself from the narrative while others see it as genuine concern, though the focus remains on Raducanu’s resilience, evident in her quarter-final run. As of 11:35 AM WAT on July 28, 2025, Osaka’s words highlight a nuanced reaction, blending empathy with a subtle pushback against oversimplified comparisons.
