The Australian Open is the first of four tennis tournaments, including the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. These tournaments are “Opens,” meaning anyone can qualify to play the biggest tennis matches in the world.
This year’s Australian Open is well underway in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria. With matches lasting from Jan. 12 until Feb. 1, it has garnered millions of fans viewing from the stands and their screens.
On Jan. 22, day five of the Open, Japan’s Naomi Osaka and Romania’s Sorana Cîrstea quickly made headlines and trending searches online after a heated exchange following their match.
Osaka won in the second round in Women’s Singles with scores of 6-3, 4-6 and 6-2. Between Cîrstea’s first and second serves, Osaka says “Come on,” seemingly as a way to hype herself up for her next play.
Cîrstea then asked the umpire if this is acceptable, to which the umpire explained that it is “not a hinderance to [Cîrstea].”
Once the game ended, Osaka and Cîrstea met up with each other at the net for a handshake. What followed soon after was a heated exchange of words by the umpire’s chair.
Though the conversation is not audible, there was palpable tension between the two. This immediately caught the attention of news channels and social media users.
After the interaction, Osaka answered questions from Australian Open staff on the court, where she expressed confusion. The crowd’s responded in reaction her responses.
Many viewers believe Osaka never needed to apologize for her actions. In the press conference, Osaka was alone and answered questions when she explained how she felt. She formally apologized for what she said during the on-court interview as well.
“I’m a little confused but I get that emotions were very high for her. I also want to apologize. I think the first couple things I said on the court were disrespectful. I don’t like disrespecting people. That’s not what I do. If she wants to talk about it, then yeah. When I’m pumping myself up, in my head, I’m not like ‘Okay, and now I’m gonna distract the other person.’ It’s purely for me.”
When Cîrstea responded to similar questions during her press conference, she kept her answers vague.
“…All good. At the end, we just had a chat, nothing big. Again, I don’t think that’s the main thing after tonight’s match…She deserved the win. That’s all I will say.”
Although it seems both players moved on from the incident, both players’ social media flooded with comments on their opinions on ‘the handshake’.
Many seem to side with Osaka, labeling Cîrstea as ‘whiny’ and a ‘sore loser’ or ironically echoing “Come on,” on her most recent Instagram post. Meanwhile, Osaka’s most recent Instagram post has hundreds of hearts and support.
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