Naomi Osaka grew up attending the US Open, dreaming of one day playing in it. But after winning it amid the Serena Williams/umpire controversy, it was hardly how she imagined.
“The memory of the US Open is a little bit bittersweet,” Osaka told reporters after she beat Zarina Diyas, 6-4, 6-3, in the first round of the China Open in Beijing. “Like right after, the day after, I really didn’t want to think about it because it wasn’t necessarily the happiest memory for me. I don’t know. I just sort of wanted to move on at that point.”
The feeling is understandable. The story of the women’s final was Williams’ confrontation with umpire Carlos Ramos, who docked her a game for misconduct. When Osaka and Williams received their prizes, there were thundering boos. They weren’t directed at Osaka, but it obviously wasn’t the moment she expected.
“I have so much tea right now, but I’m not going to spill it,” Osaka joked. “There’s a lot of stuff I want to say about how I felt and whatever. But for me, I don’t know, I don’t know.”
More than three weeks after the chaos, Osaka is still coming to terms with what should have been one of the best moments of her life.
“I mean, of course I’m happy that I won a Grand Slam,” Osaka said. “I don’t think there’s anything that can take away from that. But I don’t know.
“I feel like not that when I look back on it that it’s a bad memory, but I feel like it was so strange, I just didn’t want to think about it. I wanted to just push it to the side. Then I played Tokyo. For me, Tokyo was a way to take my mind off of it. I think that’s why I did well. I’m still trying to take my mind off of it a little bit. I guess hopefully I can do well here, too.”