Naomi Osaka had a bit of drama on Thursday at the Margaret Court Arena. The Japanese star shared a cold handshake with her opponent, Sorana Cirstea, who claimed Naomi was causing a hindrance during her first and second serve. It sparked into some words by Osaka in her interview, and now, a WTA legend is weighing in.

On Thursday, Naomi battled past 35-year-old Cirstea in a tense three-set clash, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. After the handshake, when Osaka questioned the cold gesture, Cirstea accused her of poor sportsmanship, upset by the former No.1’s repeated shouts of “Come on” between serves. Later, speaking on Tennis Channel’s Australian Open panel, Martina Navratilova shared her take on the incident.

“Well, I can get what she said after the match,” the 18 time Grand Slam champion said, “Because it’s kind of heat-of-the-moment. She was surprised by Cirstea’s reaction at the handshake. But you cannot be talking out loud, between first serve and second serve of your opponent.”

“I mean Cirstea was ready to hit the second serve and Osaka’s ‘come on.’ That’s not right. I don’t think she does that on purpose, she doesn’t realize it. You can say ‘come on’ all you want but keep it inside. Do not verbalise it.”

After the match, videos began circulating of the moment that took place during the second-round match. Sorana Cirstea was caught on camera exchanging sharp words with the chair umpire over Naomi Osaka’s fired-up “come on.” The Romanian clearly wasn’t pleased and stepped in to question the shout right away.

“Is this okay? To (shout) ‘come on’ between points?” she asked, annoyance creeping into her voice.

The chair umpire replied evenly, “Between serves? Yeah, you hadn’t gotten the ball either. This is fine.” Cirstea wasn’t convinced. “So I can talk between points?” she shot back, pushing for clarity.

The umpire stayed firm: “You’re not serving yet. So it’s not a hindrance to you. So this was okay.”

The exchange ended there, both players moving on, but the tension lingered just a bit longer than the point itself. Still, it wasn’t just the handshake that stirred the pot. Osaka shared her thoughts during the on-court interview, which sparked more fire. Although the Japanese player later took accountability for her words.

Naomi Osaka apologizes for her words post-match

When Osaka was asked about the heated moment in her on-court interview, the 2021 champion didn’t hide her emotions.

“She could have asked me (to stop),” she said. “Honestly … no one’s ever complained about it before. Also the umpire didn’t tell me I was wrong — the umpire said I was fine. Like, I thought we moved past it.”

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The Aussie crowd reacted loudly to her words. Still, Naomi Osaka said she was open to clearing the air with the 35-year-old pro. Later, during her press conference, Osaka reflected on the exchange with more calm and candor.

“If I’m being honest, I’ve never been involved in something like this before… I’m a little confused but I get that emotions were very high for her,” she told reporters. “I also want to apologize. I think the first couple things I said on the court were disrespectful. I don’t like disrespecting people. That’s not what I do.”

She clarified that her repeated “come on” shout was never meant to rattle Cirstea — it was her way of firing herself up. Meanwhile, Cirstea brushed off the tension, saying the moment didn’t deserve the attention it was getting.

“There was no drama. It was just a five-second exchange between two players that have been on tour for a long time,” she said. “It stays between us.”

With that behind her, Osaka now turns her focus to the next round, where she’ll take on Australia’s Maddison Inglis. Can the Japanese star ride this momentum to another win and punch her ticket to the quarterfinals?