"This guy starts yelling after me. I was like, Dude what the hell?" - Naomi Osaka reveals heckling incident in New York ahead of US Open

Naomi Osaka has shared an incident where she was heckled in Chinatown, New York. She said that a man started yelling at her, asking if she was from Thailand.

Osaka took to TikTok (the video was later uploaded to X by a fan) to share what happened, having ignored the man and kept on walking.

"Okay, so just got back from being outside and tell me why these New New York guys... I don't... So I'm like, walking, I'm in Chinatown, I'm just walking around and this guy, like starts yelling after me: 'Are you from Thailand? Are you from Thailand?' I thought, 'Whatever [...] you know you're supposed to ignore people,'" Naomi Osaka said.

"So, whatever, I'm just walking and a girl, like comes and asks me if I want to take a photo while I'm walking and I say yes and we're taking a photo and the guy comes and he's like smoking a cigarette and he comes from over the girl's phone and he starts like, doing this [gestures] messing up the picture. I was like, 'Dude, what the hell is your problem?' I didn't say that out loud, but I was thinking it. But yeah, we just took the picture and like, we both walked away, but it was funny."

The four-time Grand Slam champion added she was with her team when this occurred.

"Yeah, anyway, oh yeah, and then I forgot to mention that I was walking with my team. So, so Wim [Fissette] and Flon [Florian Zitzelsberger], Simon and Mati were there. And Wim was next to me when this guy was shouting, 'Are you from Thailand?'"

Naomi Osaka further added that her coach Fissette intervened:

"And like, when the guy was kind of like, stepping closer, Wim was like, 'No,' and the guy was like, 'I was talking to her and not to you guys,' and then after all that happened, Wim, of course, [...] so he was like, 'You know, I think that guy wanted to be friends with you, whatever.'"

Osaka will be playing at the 2024 US Open in New York after having received a wildcard entry for the final Grand Slam of the year.

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Naomi Osaka awarded wildcard for 2024 US Open

Naomi Osaka at the US Open 2018 (Image: Getty)

Naomi Osaka has been awarded a wildcard for the main draw at the 2024 US Open. She is a two-time champion at Flushing Meadows, with titles in 2018 and 2020.

In 2018, the Japanese player won her first Grand Slam courtesy of a spectacular run to the finals, defeating Laura Siegemund, Julia Glushko, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Aryna Sabalenka, Lesia Tsurenko and Madison Keys. In the final, she defeated Serena Williams who was bidding for a record 24th Grand Slam title.

In 2020, Osaka defeated Misaki Doi, Camila Giorgi, Marta Kostyuk and Anett Kontaveit to reach the quarterfinals. Then, she saw off Americans Shelby Roger and Jennifer Brady in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, to reach the summit clash. She clinched her second US Open trophy after defeating Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.