Naomi Osaka Makes Feelings Clear About Serena Williams as Controversial US Open Final Resurfaces

Before the 2018 US Open final, Japanese star Naomi Osaka spoke about how she and her sister made several visits to the US Open to watch Serena Williams play, that they used to sit in the upper deck and couldn’t really get close enough to get an autograph from the American. Talking about Williams, she said, “I don’t know if anybody knows this, but Serena is my favorite player. Just playing against her is a dream for me.” Although before this meeting they had already faced each other at the 2018 Miami Open, where Osaka sealed a victory with a 6-3,6-2 margin, against her idol in a Grand Slam final. It was something beyond special for the Japanese superstar.

But that big day for the then-20-year-old Naomi Osaka was overshadowed by an on-court drama. Osaka even admitted that she had a very tough night after becoming a Grand Slam champion at the 2018 US Open. In that foreboding match, Serena Williams was handed a game penalty for her angry outburst, followed by racket smashing and another code violation, as Naomi Osaka wrapped up the vital clash by 6-2,6-4. It all started with Williams receiving a first code violation after the chair umpire, Carlos Ramos, judged a gesture from her then-coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, to be coaching.

Williams kept on insisting that she hadn’t received any tips or tricks from her coach and also claimed that she’d “never cheat to win and would rather lose.” Seeing her rampage towards the umpire, the audience hurled boos and jeers at Williams. The drama ensued with more toxicity. After the match, more boos poured in when Naomi Osaka stepped up for the prize ceremony. “I’m sorry it had to end like this,” said Osaka with tears in her eyes. Although it was her first major title triumph, Osaka expected a better ending to that dream-come-true match! Time and again, she has spoken about how emotionally charged the moment was, and now, she has once again shed light on that controversial US Open moment during Jay Shetty’s Podcast.

In the podcast, Naomi Osaka recalled, “I just have this very vivid memory of winning, going back to my hotel, and the US Open is special because you kind of get back to your hotel if you have a night match at like 1:00 am or something like that. Doing treatment because I was going to play a tournament in Tokyo right after that, and I was just reading comments of people saying that I didn’t deserve to win or like I didn’t win fairly, and I don’t know, it just really sucked.” Was there any conversation between Osaka and Williams after this ordeal?

Naomi Osaka answered that she, in fact, received some kind words from the 23-time Grand Slam champion. “She said, like, she was proud of me and that I should know that the crowd wasn’t booing at me. So I was really happy that she said that,” Osaka revealed on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. At that time, she mistook the crowd, that they were booing at her. It marred her triumph. In this conversation with Jay Shetty, Osaka admitted, “She (Serena) was actually really kind and sent me a message, and I sent her a message back, but I always get so starstruck by her…“

Even last year, when Naomi Osaka appeared on the Tennis Insider podcast, she spoke about the same. “I went on social media the night after I won. I was reading a lot of people saying that I didn’t deserve to win. I remember I started crying a lot,” she said. Later on, Osaka also claimed that she was never really able to process the crowd behavior.

Many in the tennis fraternity stood with Osaka in solidarity after the incident. Renowned tennis coach Brad Gilbert said it’s extremely sad to see Osaka go through this moment in her first major title triumph, especially after putting up a tremendous show throughout the tournament. Liam Broady felt absolutely “gutted” for Naomi Osaka. Canadian tennis star Vasek Pospisil said, “What a disappointing way for a US Open final to end.“

Plenty of reactions came in after that incident, but it’s a thing of the past! At the moment, Naomi Osaka is busy re-establishing her dominance in the tennis world. She’s currently playing at the Canadian Open, and on a three-match winning streak, too!

Naomi Osaka shares thoughts after impressive win against Jelena Ostapenko

Other than winning the title at the WTA 125K Saint-Malo, FR, it has been a mediocre season for the former world number one. Naomi Osaka has a win-loss record of 21-11 this season, but shortly after making an early exit at Wimbledon, she managed to reach the R16 at the Citi Open and now, at the Canadian Open, she has secured a spot in the fourth round (R16).

Osaka defeated the 2017 French Open champion, Jelena Ostapenko, in the previous round with a scoreline of 6-2,6-4. With this triumph coming after a 72-minute battle, she has now booked her place in the last 16 of a WTA 1000 event for the third time this year. How did she react after outclassing one of her “favorite players” in this match?

“Granted, she broke me a couple of times, but she’s a really good returner, so I can’t take that personally. I went in there knowing she’s a great player and if I give her a chance, she’s going to hit a winner on me, so I just tried to keep my pace and stay as solid as I could,” she said in her post-match interview.

Naomi Osaka will next face another Latvian, Anastasija Sevastova, in the R16. Sevastova is entering this contest following her impressive three-set triumph over the two-time defending champion, Jessica Pegula. She won’t be taking it lightly! But if she wins that match, then Naomi Osaka will be on the brink of a move into the Top 32 of the WTA Rankings. Indeed, this boosts her chances of being seeded at the 2025 US Open. Do you think she can keep her winning run intact in this tournament?