Naomi Osaka Apologizes for ‘Disrespectful’ Comments About Player After Icy Handshake at Australian Open

Naomi Osaka had a tense moment with competitor Sorana Cîrstea at the Australian Open.

On Thursday, January 22, the 4-time Grand Slam winner, 28, faced off against the Romanian tennis star, 35, during the second round of the tennis tournament.

Osaka came out of the match victorious and received an icy handshake from Cîrstea at the net. Osaka asked her, “What was that for?” to which Cîrstea apparently replied that she was frustrated by Osaka pumping herself up.

In her press conference, a reporter asked Osaka if she “had any sense that Cîrstea was frustrated by anything” on the court and “did it feel unfair.”

“Honestly, no, for me one’s ever complained about it before,” Osaka responded. “Also, the umpire didn’t tell me I was wrong. The umpire said I was fine, so I was like ‘oh, okay.’ That was kind of what I thought, like, I thought we moved past it.”

Also in the press conference, Osaka apologized for the comments she made during her on-court interview after the handshake.

“I’m a little confused, but I get that emotions were very high for her, and I also want to apologize,” she admitted. “I think the first couple of things I said on the court were disrespectful, and I don’t like disrespecting people. That’s not what I do.”

During her on-court interview, Osaka was seemingly caught off guard by the exchange, stating, “Apparently, a lot of ‘Come ons’ that she was angry about, but whatever.”

“She’s a great player. I think this was her last Australian Open, so, okay, sorry she was mad about it,” Osaka added. “She could have asked me, like, bro.”

As for Cîrstea, she made it clear in her press conference that the situation wasn’t a big deal.

“There was no drama,” Cîrstea remarked. “It was just a five-second exchange between two players that have been on tour for a long time. It says between us.”