‘Weren’t on the Same Page’- Ex-American Pro Relives Tense On-Court Moment With Naomi Osaka in a Thrilling Match Gone Awry

The tennis world has seen quite a lot of drama surrounding a few cold handshakes during the 2025 United Cup. For example, although Danielle Collins didn’t take part in the final against Poland, she still managed to end up going viral after her cold reaction while shaking hands with Iga Swiatek. Previously, both these players were involved in a few controversial moments during the Paris Olympics, and this moment just added fuel to the fire. After that, we saw even Coco Gauff sharing a “cold” handshake moment with Swiatek during the same tie. Now, another American, Shelby Rogers, was seen highlighting a similar awkward moment during one of her matches against Naomi Osaka.

After seeing the bizarre handshake moment featuring Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, the renowned tennis journalist Jose Morgado tweeted, “A very unusual cold handshake from Iga Swiatek.” Then after that, we also saw Danielle Collins reigniting her bitter rivalry with Iga Swiatek after Team USA’s victory over Poland at the United Cup through her social media activities. Insane drama! Collins shared a screenshot of her handshake moment with Swiatek on her IG stories with the caption, “Didn’t know if you guys noticed this but…. New year, same me.“

She even made the zoomed picture of her eye roll during the handshake as her new profile photo on IG! So, there have been a lot of things happening around surrounding these controversial handshake moments. Amid all these, Shelby Roger recently gave an interview with Tennis Channel, and during the interview, she was asked if she remembered any handshakes from the past. In reply to that, Rogers said, “So there are a few handshakes that come to mind, but one in particular and I can still feel it to this date.” Which one was it, though?

Shelby Rogers further added, “It was against Naomi Osaka in Charleston on the green clay. I went in for a hug as I usually would, one of my trademarks. And I don’t know what happened, she didn’t…we weren’t on the same page here. Oh, I can just feel it.“ It was their third meeting on the Tour. And Rogers defeated Naomi Osaka by 6- 4,6- 2 in that R16 match at the 2017 Charleston Open.

After that, both Shelby Rogers and Naomi Osaka met in the QF of the 2020 US Open. However, this time, the Japanese had the last laugh, and she defeated her by 6-3,6-4. Although Rogers still has a 3-1 lead in their H2H record, that victory in NY was extremely crucial in this epic rivalry. Later on, while sharing her thoughts on the win, Naomi Osaka was seen recalling their previous meeting in Charleston.

She said, “I consider this a little bit of revenge. I just feel like she had the upper hand because I’ve never beaten her and those memories are stuck in my head.“ Naomi Osaka further added, “I feel like I’ve gone through a lot [since they last met in 2017], but the Charleston match left sort of a really bad aftertaste in my mouth, so I’m really glad I was able to have a much better positive attitude today.” Was the moment in Charleston the only moment when Osaka’s post-match gestures made the headlines?

“I give out the worst hugs” – Naomi Osaka makes an honest confession on her post-match rituals

Hugging at the net is the new handshake? Well, even Naomi Osaka‘s handshakes stirred a fair bit of controversy a few years ago! The incident took place during the 2020 AO when her dramatic downfall was sharply exposed by a painful handshake with Coco Gauff at the net. Gauff won that R32  match by 6-3,6-4. 

After the match, Osaka was seen awkwardly putting an arm around Coco Gauff after ignoring her offered hand. She had to stand there as Gauff took pity on her and tried to console her. Was it just the moment of disappointment that led her to this awkward situation? Well, only Osaka can give the answer!

Well, she did previously speak about her struggles to adapt to the shifting tradition in tennis of using hugs instead of handshakes as a gesture of grace at the end of a match. During a previous interview, Naomi Osaka revealed, “The thing is, I’m used to handshakes. Every time someone comes for a hug, I’m very confused. I’m told that I give out the worst hugs, too. It’s not necessarily the best situation for me to try to hug someone unless I really know them. And I don’t really know anybody, so…“

So, her first instinct is never to hug? “Yeah. I’m always, like, Thank you very much,” said Osaka. What makes a good handshake, according to her, then? “More like what makes a bad handshake. As long as they put their hand on my hand. If they reject me, that’s not a good handshake,” she said. So, perhaps it wasn’t the best moment for Shelby Rogers as well during the 2017 Charleston Open. Which team are you in, though, post-match handshakes or hugs?