Naomi Osaka will take an "indefinite break" from tennis after crashing out of the US Open ©Getty Images

Naomi Osaka is to take an indefinite break from tennis after she crashed out of the US Open, losing to 18-year-old Leylah Fernandez in the third round.

The 23-year-old defending champion, who lit the Olympic Torch at the Tokyo 2020 Opening Ceremony earlier this summer, lost 5-7 7-6 6-4 after she crumbled in the final two sets.

Osaka served for the match in the second set, only for the Canadian teenager to find a crucial break.

The Japanese star then unravelled, smashing her racket on at least three occasions, hiding under a towel after her second-set defeat and hitting a ball into the crown in the third set, after which she was issued a code violation.

In her post-match press conference, as reported by Sky Sports, Osaka said: "This is very hard to articulate. 

"Basically I feel like I'm kind of at this point where I'm trying to figure out what I want to do, and I honestly don't know when I'm going to play my next tennis match. 

"Sorry.

Eighteen-year-old Leylah Fernandez stunned Naomi Osaka in the third round of the US Open ©Getty Images
Eighteen-year-old Leylah Fernandez stunned Naomi Osaka in the third round of the US Open ©Getty Images

"I think I'm going to take a break from playing for a while.

"How do I go around saying this?

"I feel like for me recently when I win, I don't feel happy. 

"I feel more like a relief. 

"And then when I lose, I feel very sad. 

"I don't think that's normal. 

"I didn't really want to cry."

Osaka concluded: "I guess we're all dealing with some stuff, but I know that I'm dealing with some stuff."

Osaka initially said she would not partake in press conferences at the French Open, before withdrawing from the competition after the first round ©Getty Images
Osaka initially said she would not partake in press conferences at the French Open, before withdrawing from the competition after the first round ©Getty Images

Osaka has been at the centre of attention in 2021 due to her honest revelations about her mental health.

Prior to the French Open, she announced she would not partake in any press conferences to protect her mental health.

After beating Romania's Patricia Maria Țig in the first round, Osaka, who was fined $15,000 (£10,818/€12,622) for skipping her press conference after the first-round victory, withdrew from the competition before her second-round match, revealing she had suffered "long bouts of depression" since her 2018 US Open triumph, in which she beat American Serena Williams in the final.

Osaka then skipped Wimbledon, before returning for her home Olympics, where she surprisingly lost 6-1, 6-4 in the third round to Czech Republic’s Markéta Vondroušová.

The US Open is the final Grand Slam of the year, before the calendar concludes with the Nitto Association of Tennis Professionals Finals, which is held in Turin from November 14 to November 21.

The next Grand Slam is the Australian Open, which is scheduled to take place from January 17 to 30 next year.

Osaka is the defending champion, having won the Slam in 2019 and 2021.