Osaka apologises for ‘disrespectful’ on-court interview after fiery exchange with Cirstea

1 month ago 14

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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.

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.”

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.

“I’m a little confused. I guess that emotions were very high for her. I also want to apologise. I think the first couple things that I said on the court was disrespectful. I don’t like disrespecting people – that’s not what I do.”

Cirstea would not divulge details of the exchange when asked what she said to Osaka.

“No, all good. We just had a chat. Nothing big,” Cirstea said.

“Again, I don’t think that’s the main thing after tonight’s match. It was, again, a good match, she was much better than me towards the end. She deserved the win. That’s all I would say.”

Cirstea, a former world No. 21 who was playing in her 18th and final Australian Open, said she’d rather focus on her career milestones than the exchange after the match.

“I will not talk about that. Look, this is my last Australian Open, I’ve been playing for 20 years, and I think it’s a bit more going on than just a five-second discussion at the end that I’ve had with Naomi,” she said.

Cirstea was asked once more about the “drama”, but said there wasn’t any.

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

Osaka will play Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis in the third round on Saturday.

The Japanese world No.17 had a medical timeout on Thursday night, which appeared to be for a shoulder injury, but wouldn’t go into specifics.

“It’s kind of a reoccurring thing. I guess if you look at my medical history, you can maybe do like a little guessing game,” she said.

“I think for me, I’m just really glad that I kind of pushed through it and also played, like, really good tennis in the third set. I try to just leave the tournament site with that in mind for the next days.”