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Naomi Osaka has apologised for her “disrespectful” on-court interview following her second-round victory over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, where the two had a heated exchange at the net after the match.
Osaka and Cirstea shook hands before going over to shake the hand of chair umpire Kelly Rask, before Cirstea exchanged words with Osaka and the Romanian left the court.
Sorana Cirstea, left, of Romania confronts Naomi Osaka, right, of Japan after their match.Credit: AP
Cirstea appeared to have been annoyed with Osaka pumping herself up and yelling “C’mon” between first and second serves.
When Osaka went across for her on-court interview, the four-time major champion, who was clearly rattled by the exchange, hit back when asked what it took to beat her second-round opponent.
“[There were] apparently a lot of ‘C’mons’ that she was angry about, but whatever,” said Osaka.
“I mean, I tried to play well, I think I hit a lot of unforced errors, but I tried my best. She’s a great player, I think this was her last Australian Open, so, OK, [I’m] sorry she was mad about it.”
Naomi Osaka in her on-court interview.Credit: Getty Images
But Osaka apologised for the interview in her post-match press conference, and said emotions were probably running high for the Romanian who is retiring at the end of 2026.
“Well, if I’m being honest, I’ve never been involved in something like this before, so it’s like I don’t know if we’re supposed to leave it on the court and be like, ‘Hey, how [are] you doing?’ [in the locker room],” Osaka said.
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