'Not your problem' - Chris Evert urges 'vulnerable' Naomi Osaka to have 'thick skin' in tennis world

Tennis legend Chris Evert has backed Naomi Osaka and urged her to continue to have «thick skin» as she deals with the weight of pressure and expectation on her. Evert has previously given her views on hecklers in tennis and Osaka being a «bright light» in the sport after her experience at Indian Wells when a spectator shouted «Naomi, you suck” at the Japanese star at the event in the California desert, with the four-time Grand Slam champion visibly upset during her defeat against Veronika Kudermetova. Ad/> The 24-year-old has since returned in a much more positive setting at the Miami Open as she reached the final, only to lose to new world No.

1 Iga Swiatek, and Evert believes it is crucial that she continues to block out any negativity. Roland-GarrosAlcaraz 'X-factor' could see him define how tennis is played — Woodbridge18 HOURS AGO »We are all fans of Naomi Osaka and we have seen the high level of tennis that she can play and we have seen her win Grand Slams," Evert told Eurosport in an extended interview ahead of the French Open. «We recognise that she is a very sensitive person and this kind of life of winning tournaments, being No.

1, winning Grand Slams, this competition with everything that comes along with it, being sort of a target for anybody to talk about, being judged and social media, how your privacy is taken away from you. »It is not just playing a match on the court, it is everything that goes along with it. It has been a struggle for her and I think that she is just sensitive and she is just vulnerable.