Naomi Osaka has come under fire after the Canadian Open final for failing to congratulate Victoria Mboko in her post-match speech.
She cut an emotional figure, having come from one set up to lose to the teenage sensation. It marked a sad end to a really successful week for the Japanese superstar, and this will certainly have played a part in her speech snub.
The 27-year-old was quick to get her time on the microphone over with and swiftly moved aside to allow Victoria Mboko, the new champion, to step into the limelight.
There, she shrank into the background, dwelling on what seemed a completely avoidable defeat given how she started the match.
Little did she know the backlash that was brewing based on her speech.
Naomi Osaka explains why she didn’t congratulate Victoria Mboko after Canadian Open final
Naomi Osaka clearly understood the mistake she had made in her post-match press conference though, as she quickly sought to offer an explanation for why she failed to congratulate Mboko.
Her justification was short, and offered no apology; but it did make sense.
Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
After all, being forced to speak after such a draining and emotional loss is never easy, as Aryna Sabalenka will testify.
All Osaka told Canadian Open reporters was: “Yeah, I mean, definitely. I think it’s kind of funny. This morning I was very grateful. I don’t know why my emotions flipped so quickly, but I’m really happy to have played the final.
“I think Victoria played really well. I completely forgot to congratulate her on the court. Yeah, I mean, she did really amazing, so…”.
A simple explanation, and one that should hopefully quell criticism.
Aryna Sabalenka’s example leads Naomi Osaka defence
As touched upon earlier, Sabalenka’s words after losing the French Open final to Coco Gauff, and the subsequent reaction, should act as a great reason why tennis fans should be careful about piling onto Osaka after this honest mistake.
After all, it’s tough to keep emotions in check after losing in such a high-stakes match, as countless others have proven across the history of the sport.
The Belarusian in particular was ravaged for what she said, as many slammed Sabalenka for claiming Iga Swiatek would have won the Roland Garros final had they swapped places.
Following that, after issuing apology after apology to Gauff, she eventually admitted: “That was just completely unprofessional of me. I let my emotions get the better of me.
“I’m just a human being who’s still learning in life. I think we all have those days when we lose control.”
Osaka will certainly agree with Sabalenka’s assessment, and hope that tennis fans can perhaps learn a lesson about being too harsh in their reaction to such a mistake.
The players are humans, and should be treated as such.