Naomi Osaka’s Olympics Run is Over

Naomi Osaka’s Olympics run is officially over as the string of upsets in the Olympics 2021 in Tokyo continues. 

The tennis star, who is currently ranked number two in the world, lost in the third round of Olympic play to Marketa Vondrousova. It’s the latest in a string of tennis shakeups—number one ranked player, Australian Ash Barty lost in the first round and the number three ranked player Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus is also out. 

Osaka has, in may ways been the face of the Tokyo Olympics. Competing as an athlete for her home country Japan, she lit the Olympic torch at the Opening Ceremony. But more than that, Osaka has been an outspoken activist in the months leading up to the Games, an avatar for the way so many women athletes are using their platforms. 

Osaka notably withdrew from the Grand Slam competitions leading up to the Olympics, taking a stand to protect her mental health. “The truth is I have suffered long bouts of depression since the U.S. Open in 2018 and I’ve had a really hard time coping with that,” she wrote on Instagram, adding that she would be taking some time away from the court.

Naomi Osaka’s Olympics run isn’t the only one that hasn’t gone as planned. The USWNT, who was on a 44-game winning streak, lost to Sweden in their first Olympic match (although the team will still advance to the quarter finals). And the news of Osaka’s ouster came just hours before the news that Simone Biles withdrew from the women’s team competition citing a “medical issue.” (It is yet to be determined if she will compete in any individual events.)