Naomi Osaka has been slammed by tennis fans for her ‘unsportsmanlike’ behavior after being beaten in the final of the Canadian Open.
The four-time Grand Slam champion was bested by 18-year-old Victoria Mboko in Montreal after the teenager pulled off a sensational 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 comeback victory to claim her first WTA Tour title on home soil.
The Canadian starlet completed a dream run to the National Bank Open title, downing four Grand Slam winners – Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Sofia Kenin and Osaka – en route to her victory.
Mboko previously admitted to considering her final opponent her role model, yet Osaka didn’t even acknowledge the rising star in her brief 45-word post-match interview.
‘Thanks, I guess. I don’t really want to take up too much time. I’ll just say thank you to everyone. Thank you to my team, the ball kids, organizers, and volunteers. I hope you guys had a good night,’ Osaka briefly said.
The 27-year-old later claimed that she simply forgot to congratulate her opponent, telling reporters: ‘I think Victoria played really well. I completely forgot to congratulate her on the court. Yeah, I mean, she did really amazing, so…’
Naomi Osaka has been slammed by tennis fans for her ‘unsportsmanlike’ behavior
The Grand Slam winner didn’t acknowledge Victoria Mboko in her post-match speech
Osaka was bested by Mboko as the 18-year-old clinched a comeback victory on home soil
Yet, Osaka’s short speech had already left tennis fans furious on social media, as many called her out for what they viewed as ‘shameful’ behavior.
‘It’s absolutely shameful that Naomi Osaka knows that Victoria Mboko idolizes and look up to her, and she couldn’t even congratulate her or even mention her name,’ one social media user seethed. ‘Disgusting, sore loser behaviour. She earned a hater in me today.’
‘Of all people, Naomi Osaka should know how to be gracious to a younger opponent during the post-match ceremony,’ a second said. ‘To not even congratulate Victoria in the speech was a bad look.’
In 2018, Osaka had been left in tears during the US Open trophy presentation after she clinched her first Grand Slam title in straight sets against Serena Williams. Her triumph was marred by arguments between Williams – her own idol – and the match’s umpire, Carlos Ramos, before the pro-American Arthur Ashe crowd booed Osaka.
And, after failing to congratulate her own younger opponent during a trophy presentation eight years later, Osaka faced backlash from fans.
‘Naomi Osaka not congratulating a young black girl who looks up to her on her first main tour trophy is in incredibly poor taste. Salty for what? #wtamontreal,’ one social media user wrote.
‘Naomi Osaka such a sore loser and no sportsmanship. She could have at least been gracious and thank the winner that she lost against,’ another fumed.
Meanwhile, a third added: ‘I have never witnessed such poor sportsmanship as was exhibited by Naomi Osaka tonight. What a poor loser!!!’
The Japanese star’s short speech and behavior left tennis fans furious on social media
‘honestly, i didn’t expect how much of a classless, poor sport Naomi Osaka was tonight. shamelful behaviour,’ another agreed.
Mboko, a wild card, rallied after dropping the first set to the Japanese former world number one, who had established a 3-0 lead, and held firm to cap a remarkable fortnight at home.
Local favourite Mboko found her rhythm in the second set, breaking serve to establish a 5-2 lead as Osaka struggled with her returns, and she capitalised to level up the contest and force a decider.
The decisive moment came in the third set, when Mboko took a 3-1 lead after saving four break points in a pivotal fourth game that gave her a firm grip on the match as she went on to claim the title after two hours and four minutes of play.
Osaka was clearly rattled by the rowdy Canadian crowd, who made no secret of whom they were rooting for, but some fans claimed the Japanese star had surrendered the match before it was even over.
One point in particular raised eyebrows during the third set. Osaka looked to have won the point when she rushed to the net to fire back a lob shot from Mboko but the teenager darted forward just getting her racket to the ball for a sensational return.
Yet a dejected Osaka made no attempt to fire back, standing motionless at the net as she watched Mboko’s shot rattle past.
‘Naomi Osaka had long checked out by this point, but that get by Victoria Mboko was electrifying,’ one user wrote.
Other fans took issue with what they interpreted as a defeatist attitude from Osaka
Social media users suggested that the 27-year-old had surrendered the match
‘Naomi’s body language now is horrible,’ an Osaka fan account lamented, while another social media user added: ‘The crowd is getting to Naomi Osaka and it looks like she checked out of this match mentally.’
Osaka has openly discussed her mental health in the past. She took a highly publicized mental health break from the game after withdrawing from the French Open in May 2021, citing concerns with her mental health and overall well-being.
In Montreal, Osaka, who previously reached No. 1 in the world, had her best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament since also reaching the Miami final in 2022.
She stepped away for 15 months toward the end of that season and had daughter Shai in July 2023. She’s winless since the 2021 Australian Open.
Meanwhile, Mboko is the third wild card to win a WTA 1000 title event, following Maria Sharapova at Cincinnati in 2011 and Andreescu at Indian Wells in 2019.
Mboko – who jumped from 85th to 25th in the world – won her first WTA Tour title and joined Faye Urban in 1969 and Bianca Andreescu in 2019 as the only Canadians to win the home event in the open era.
AloJapan.com