U.S. Open: Naomi Osaka says she's taking a break from tennis after upset loss to Canadian teen Leylah Fernandez

Naomi Osaka was hoping to make a statement at the U.S. Open, hoping to get her game back on track after a rough year that saw her pull out of one Grand Slam tournament and skip another.

Instead, her tough year ended in a complete meltdown and with her declaring she was going to take "a break from playing for a while" after she was ousted by 18-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4.

"Basically, I feel like I’m kind of at a point where I’m trying to figure out what I want to do," Osaka said with tears in her eyes at her post match news conference. "I honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match."

The defending U.S. Open champ unraveled painfully and publicly in the second set, after failing to close out the match on her serve. In the ensuing tiebreak, the usually stoic Osaka slammed her racket to the court multiple times in frustration.

Osaka left the court at the end of the set in a clear attempt to gather herself. She apologized to umpire Alison Hughes for leaving without telling her upon her return. Still, the short break was not enough for her to pull it together

Fernandez, ranked 73rd in the world, was clearly not intimidated to be playing a four-time Grand Slam champion. She remained steady throughout, and then broke Osaka in the first game of the final set when she smacked a two-handed backhand into the net on break point.

Serving for the match at 5-4, Fernandez won the game at love despite facing the biggest moment of her career. She thrust her hands into the air after Osaka hit a forehand wide on match point.

"From the very beginning, right before the match, I knew I was able to win," Fernandez said. "I was not focusing on Naomi I was only focusing on myself and what I needed to do."

It was a big night for teenagers at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Earlier in the evening,18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain upset third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 0-6, 7-6 (7).

Fernandez said she watched that match and it inspired her to come out and pull off the same kind of upset. "I thought I could do that too," she said.

Osaka of Japan, who won the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020, was playing in her first Grand Slam since pulling out of the French Open to take a mental-health break.

She said before the tournament that it was the trauma of her controversial win over Serena Williams on Arthur Ashe court that had caused her to have some mental health issues. Osaka, who is the highest paid women’s athlete in history with an income of 60 million last year, has spoken frankly about her mental-health challenges.

It was evident Friday night that she is still struggling.

"When I win, I don't feel happy, I feel more like a relief. When I lose, I feel very sad," Osaka said. "I don't feel like it's normal."

Osaka, who had a walkover in the second round, said she thinks she would have preferred to play a match. She added that she cannot explain why she played the way she did against Fernandez.

"I guess we're all dealing with some stuff, but I know that I'm dealing with some stuff," she said.

Osaka said she was not sure what happened in the second set when she got upset.

"I was telling myself to be calm, but I feel like maybe there was a boiling point," she said. "Like normally I feel like I like challenges. But recently I feel very anxious when things don't go my way, and I feel like you can feel that. I'm not really sure why it happens the way it happens now."

Fernandez advances to the round of 16 for the first time in a Grand Slam tournament. Born to an Ecuadorian father and a Filipino-Canadian mother, Fernandez currently trains in Florida.

This is the lowest ranked player that Osaka has lost to since she lost to Coco Gauff in the 2020 Australian Open.

By Barbara Barker

barbara.barker@newsday.commeanbarb

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.