Naomi Osaka won her second-round match against Sorana Cirstea in a hard-fought three-set battle, but words were exchanged during the post-match handshake at the Australian Open.
During the match, Osaka was shouting “come on” between first and second serves. The idea was to motivate herself, but her opponent, Cirstea, took issue with that and even complained to the chair umpire. At the net after the match, Cîrstea gave Osaka a frothy, minimal handshake, leading to the American asking, “What was that for?”
Former WTA star Kim Clijsters shared her thoughts on the controversial handshake. She revealed that what Osaka was doing never happened when she was playing. While Clijsters noted that Cirstea shouldn’t have been bothered by it, but acknowledged that Osaka’s shouts do impact the opponent.
“But I do think there was definitely a generational impact, where I don’t think anybody ever did that in however many years I was on tour. I don’t remember,” Clijsters said on the Love All podcast.
Clijsters also recalled her own personal account of a similar incident from her playing days and revealed how she handled it.
“I remember Bartoli one time in Stanford started waving her racket and going left and right and squeaking her shoes and jumping back and forth and I gave her a look like, really?” Clijsters said.
Clijsters also raised an important question regarding drawing a line what the players and fans can say during a match.
“Where do you draw the line? You hear the chair umpire sometimes say if someone in the crowd yells out and says ‘come on’ they’ll say quiet in-between first and second serve,” Clijsters added. “So where do you draw the line to say it’s okay for a player or an opponent to do it?
“Because it does have an effect on your opponent. You hope it could have a bit of a mental impact on the serve a little bit, I am sure that is a consequence of whether you just do it to pump yourself up or you do it for that kind of mental advantage.”
Naomi Osaka’s Post-Game Explanation & Apology
In the press conference after the game, Naomi Osaka apologized, saying she didn’t intend to disrespect Sorana Cîrstea. She said the words during the heated exchange came out in emotion.
“I think this was her last Australian Open, so OK, sorry she was mad about it,” she said. “I get that emotions were very high for her, and I also want to apologise.”
On the other hand, Cirstea downplayed the moment, saying there was no need for any drama and that it was just an exchange between two veteran players.
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