Osaka, who lit the Olympic cauldron as one of Japan’s biggest sports stars, was eliminated in the third round.
Naomi Osaka, the Japanese superstar who lit the cauldron during the Olympic opening ceremony, was eliminated in the third round of the women’s singles tennis tournament on Tuesday in straight sets. Osaka lost,6-1,6-4, to Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in barely over one hour in a stunning upset of the host country’s biggest sports celebrity. The defeat ended Osaka’s run at the Tokyo Games. Osaka breezed through her first two matches, the first competition she has faced since dropping out of the French Open in June to deal with mental health issues. On Tuesday, however, Osaka struggled from the outset. For long stretches of the first set, Osaka battled to keep the ball in play. She committed 20 errors in the set,14 of them unforced, and while she did not double-fault, she also could not rely on her serve to take control of the match the way she usually does. The loss stunned the handful of people in attendance at Ariake Tennis Center, where a phalanx of Japanese photographers lined the court. Osaka, the No.2 player in the world, was a favorite to win the tournament on home soil, especially after Ashleigh Barty, the world No.1, was eliminated in the first round and other top players lost in Round 2. Osaka, who dropped out of the French Open over a dispute with tournament officials over whether she should have to attend mandatory news conferences following her matches, made a brief visit to the players lounge after the match, then left the grounds before returning later to speak with the press. Because Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron late Friday night in the climax of the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Games, her opening match was moved from Saturday morning to Sunday. As a result, Osaka was playing for a third consecutive day.
