Osaka struggles with perfectionism through emotional WTA Finals debut

SINGAPORE - Naomi Osaka’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global hasn’t quite gone according to plan, certainly not for the self-described “perfectionist” after another emotional loss to Angelique Kerber on Wednesday night.

“I expect a lot from myself,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I feel like when other people expect a lot from me, then it sort of doubles. Then I don't know. I internalize a lot of things, and then it just explodes and then I start talking to myself on the court.

“Whenever I want to win badly, then it starts becoming emotional, and I can't really control too much, like when it starts going a bit sideways. Usually when I win is when I can control it, so I'm just gonna try to do better on that part.”

A WTA Rising Stars Invitational champion back in 2014, Osaka clinched her debut appearance in Singapore shortly after winning her maiden major title at the US Open, but an inconsistency on serve cropped up in Beijing and has hampered her through losses to Kerber and Sloane Stephens on Monday.

“I feel like this match was sort of a continuation of my last match in a way that I feel like I didn't serve well in either of them. In a way I'm very proud of myself for being able to make the matches so close without really having a first serve, but I don't know. I feel like I'm not really sure how that's going wrong, and I want to practice it.”

Losing confidence in one of her biggest weapons has also, by her own diagnosis, infected her ground game, hitting 50 unforced errors against Kerber in the over two-hour epic.

“For some reason I can't get the timing of the ball on the court, on the groundstrokes or the serves.

“So it's a bit strange feeling, like, playing against the top players and then not knowing what you're going to do on the next ball. I want to be in the top form, but I'm not really there. So it's a little bit depressing.”

Whether or not she ultimately qualifies for the semifinals - both Agnieszka Radwanska and Dominika Cibulkova improbably ended up winning the tournament from her position in 2015 and 2016 - Osaka remains optimistic about her week as part of the Elite Eight, and her chances to turn things around against No.8 seed Kiki Bertens.

“I think when you're little, when you play your matches, you have dreams of playing against the best players in the world, and I think this tournament gives me the opportunity to do that.

“I have a lot of fun when I'm playing here, and I know it's very challenging, and that's where sometimes I get a little bit temperamental. But I think all in all, there is nowhere else I'd want to be, so definitely I’ll have fun.”