Naomi Osaka has apologised to Victoria Mboko after coming under fire for the speech she gave after losing to the Canadian teenager in the 2025 Montreal final.
Mboko, who was a wildcard at the Canadian Open, defeated an unseeded Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the title match to complete a remarkable run to her maiden WTA Tour title.
Osaka dropped just a single set during an impressive run to the final at the WTA 1000 event as she beat Ariana Arsenault, Liudmila Samsonova, Jelena Ostapenko, Anastasija Sevastova, Elina Svitolina and Clara Tauson.
The former world No 1 was seeking her first title since she secured her fourth Grand Slam crown at the 2021 Australian Open.
In her speech during the trophy ceremony, a visibly emotional Osaka forgot to mention Mboko.
“Thanks, I guess. I don’t really want to take up too much time,” Osaka said. “So, I’ll just say thank you to everyone. Thank you to my team, thank you to the ball kids, thank you to the organisers, and all the volunteers. I hope you guys had a good night.”
Osaka has since faced some strong criticism from tennis fans for failing to congratulate Mboko, who has previously said that the Japanese star was an idol for her.
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In her post-final press conference, Osaka said: “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…”
Osaka has since apologised to Mboko as she addressed her speech in a post on Instagram Threads.
“Thanks, Montreal, it’s been a really great run,” wrote the 27-year-old.
“I also want to say sorry and congratulations to Victoria. You played a great match and have an amazing career ahead! I realise I didn’t congratulate you on the court.
“Honestly, I was in a daze and I was so focused on not having the same speech as IW 2018 finals or the Jenny/Jennifer situation that I tried to make my speech as short as possible. Thanks everyone for the week, see you in NY.”
Osaka and Mboko both withdrew from the Cincinnati Open following their runs in Montreal.
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AloJapan.com