Tokyo Olympics: Naomi Osaka is “sad” due shocking defeat, but “really happy” in her Olympic debut

Naomi Osaka said that she was disappointed with her shocking defeat on Tuesday at the Tokyo Olympics, but was happy with how her first Gaming experience went. Osaka, ranked second in the WTA standings, lost 6-1, 6-4 to the Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova in the third round.

The 23-year-old was one of Japan’s biggest medal hopes and lit the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony on Saturday. “For me, I’m really glad to be here. I’m sad that I lost of course, but all-in-all, really happy with my first Olympic experience,” she told reporters after her match.

The Olympics marked Osaka’s return to tennis after she withdrew from the French Open and took a two-month mental health break. She said she hasn’t planned on when she will begin preparations for the US Open later this year.

“For me, I’m sort of a person that wings a lot of things, so that’s either a really good thing or a really bad thing,” said Osaka.

Osaka acknowledged that she had been under pressure to perform, but was nonetheless satisfied with her maiden outing at the Games. She had won the U.S. Open last year, and was looking to become the fourth singles player since 1988 to win an Olympic gold on home soil.

“I’m disappointed in every loss, but I feel like this one sucks more than the others,” Osaka said.

As the highest-paid female athlete in the world and the host country’s poster-girl for the Games, the huge expectations were hard to handle.

“I definitely feel like there was a lot of pressure for this,” Osaka said. “I think it’s maybe because I haven’t played in the Olympics before and for the first year (it) was a bit much.”

Osaka’s loss followed the exit of world number one and Wimbledon champion Ash Barty, who was beaten in Sunday’s first round.