Naomi Osaka was sensationally accused of not playing fair and subjected to an ice-cold handshake by her opponent Sorana Cirstea at the net, after beating the Romanian world No 41 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
The former Australian Open champion went to shake hands with her rival after the lengthy battle on Margaret Court Arena but was visibly surprised by the curtness of Cirstea’s response.
Quick to query her, the Japanese-American asked: ‘What was that for?’
‘That?’ Cirstea responded as she made her way towards the umpire. ‘For not knowing what fair play is, my friend.
‘You’re playing for so long and you don’t know what fair play is?’
The 35-year-old then swiftly left the court, leaving Osaka left to interpret her words as she waited for her on-court interview.
Sorana Cirstea took issue with Naomi Osaka’s on-court conduct after their three-set clash
The No 16 seed appeared confused as to why Cirstea had brushed away her net handshake
The 28-year-old gave her reasoning for Cirstea’s reaction when prompted in front of the crowd, brushing off the accusation as she was asked ‘what it took to get through that one’ by her interviewer.
‘Apparently a lot of “come ons” that was was angry about, but whatever,’ Osaka said, before making a dramatic shrugging gesture.
‘She’s a great player, I think this was her last Australian Open, but… sorry she was mad about it,’ Osaka added, prompting a round of shocked laughter from the waiting fans.
Cirstea announced her decision to retire at the end of 2025, and will have been chagrinned to play her last match in Melbourne under challenging circumstances.
The former world No 21 allowed her frustrations to bubble over deep in the third set, after accusing Osaka of disrupting her service game.
4-2 down in the decider, at 30-30, Cirstea faulted on her first serve, and as she recovered, a voice which she believed to be Osaka’s was heard saying ‘come on’ from the other side of the court.
Stopping play, Cirstea took her concerns to the umpire, asking: ‘Is that okay? To do come on between points?’
‘Between serves, you haven’t got the ball in your hand, so it’s okay,’ the umpire confirmed.
‘So it’s okay? I can talk between (serves)? I can go “come on”, and talk?’ Cirstea queried again.
Earlier in the match, the Romanian had spoken to the umpire about Osaka’s calls between her opponent’s serves
During her on-court interview Osaka explained why her opponent might have taken umbrage
But with an exaggerated shrug, the Japanese-American star showed little remorse for her calls
‘You’re not serving yet, so it’s not a hindrance,’ the umpire explained. ‘If you’re in the service motion, no’.
Cirstea explained that it was not the first time that she had an issue with Osaka doing so, but returned to working on her second serve, wrapping up the conversation.
When asked to elaborate on the incident in her post-match press conference, Osaka kept her unbothered stance.
‘I just thought, “huh, that’s interesting”,’ she said. ‘For me, no one has ever complained about it before. And also the umpire didn’t tell me I was wrong, I was like “oh, okay”.
‘I thought we moved past it’.
Cirstea was also keen to move on by the time she went to press, saying that she had no issue and was keen not to focus on the incident as she called time on her tournament in Melbourne.
‘If I’m being honest, I’ve never been involved in something like this,’ Osaka added, when asked if she planned to discuss the issue again with Cirstea. ‘I don’t know if we’re supposed to leave it on the court.
‘I’m a little confused, but I get that emotions were very high for her, and I also want to apologise to her. The first couple of things I said on the court (in my interview) were disrespectful, and I don’t like disrespecting people, it’s not what I do.
‘If she wants to talk about it, then yes but – when I’m pumping myself up in my head, it’s purely for me.’
In her press conference however, Osaka apologised to Cirstea for her on-court remarks
On explaining why she had ramped up the volume of her ‘come ons’ after Cirstea spoke to the umpire, Osaka continued: ‘I’m not someone who likes to be casually disrespected, so I probably overdid it the next couple of points.
‘But it takes a lot out of me. I’m very tired now.’
16th-seed Osaka has not moved quietly since her arrival Down Under, capturing international headlines ahead of her first round match with a dramatic on-court entrance in a couture outfit by London-based designer Robert Wun.
The four-time Grand Slam champion paired her custom Nike kit with a veiled hat featuring a butterfly, flowing white trousers, and an a twirled white umbrella in what she described as a jellyfish inspired outfit.
Osaka lost the hat and the umbrella for her return to action on Thursday evening, but continued to sport her unique look, which she described to US Vogue as having stemmed from reading a story to her two-year-old daughter Shai.
‘There was an image of a jellyfish, and when I showed it to her she got so excited,’ Osaka explained, before fleshing out the concept with the design team at Nike and reaching out to tennis fan Wun.
After securing her spot in the third round, Osaka admitted that she was unwilling to reveal whether she would be changing up her look yet again for her meeting with home favourite Maddison Inglis.
Osaka said mischievously that she was keen to give fans ‘a reason to watch’ by keeping her next move under wraps.
