Naomi Osaka apologises for 'disrespecting' Sorana Cirstea in post-match interview but defends on-court actions at Australian Open
Published 22/01/2026 at 14:10 GMT
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Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has apologised to Romanian opponent Sorana Cirstea for her "disrespectful" comments in an on-court interview. The pair had exchanged a frosty handshake following their second-round match, with the Romanian taking issue with Osaka shouting "come on" between points. While Osaka regretted her post-match comments, she defended her on-court actions.
Osaka apologises for Cirstea comments - 'I don't like disrespecting people'
Video credit: TNT Sports
Naomi Osaka has apologised for "disrespecting" Sorana Cirstea following her second-round victory at the Australian Open but defended her on-court actions.
The four-time Grand Slam champion gave a fiery post-match interview after edging past Cirstea in a tense three-set match, which ended with a frosty handshake.
Osaka appeared to frustrate her opponent by shouting "come on" between points, prompting Cirstea to raise the issue with the umpire.
The umpire confirmed there was no issue, as long as the comments did not occur while Cirstea was serving.
And in her post-match interview, Osaka suggested Cirstea had taken issue with her on-court celebrations.
"Apparently, a lot of ‘come ons’ because that’s what she was angry about," Osaka said.
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'Whatever' says Osaka as she reacts to Cirstea row - 'Guess she was mad about it'
Video credit: TNT Sports
The two-time Australian Open champion added: "I mean, I tried to play well. I think a lot of unforced errors, but I tried my best.
"She’s a great player. I think this was her last Australian Open… I’m sorry she was mad about it."
However, Osaka later rowed back on her comments in the press conference.
"I want to apologise," she said. "I think the first couple things that I said on the court were disrespectful. I don't like disrespecting people. That's not what I do."
On whether she felt Cirstea had been frustrated by her actions, Osaka added: "Honestly, no.
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Highlights: Osaka sees off Cirstea in spicy encounter
Video credit: TNT Sports
"For me, no one's ever complained about it before. Also, the umpire didn't tell me I was wrong. I thought we moved past it.
"If I'm being honest, I've never been involved in something like this before, so I don't know if we're supposed to leave it on the court and be like, hey, how you doing?
"I'm a little confused. I guess that emotions were very high for her.
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"When I'm pumping myself up, in my head I'm not like, okay, now I'm going to distract the other person. It's purely for me."
When asked whether her increasingly vocal "come ons" late in the match were used to spur herself on, Osaka said: "I'm not a person that reacts well to being casually disrespected.
"So yeah, I probably overdid it in the next couple of points. But it takes a lot out of me. I'm very tired now."
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Watch as Cirstea vents frustration at umpire after Osaka shouts out between points
Video credit: TNT Sports
Cirstea, who is calling time on her career at the end of the season, downplayed the incident in her press conference.
"No, all good. We just had a chat," she said. "Nothing big. Again, I don't think that's the main thing after tonight's match.
"Again, it was a good match. She was much better than me towards the end. Yeah, she deserved the win.
"This is my last Australian Open. I have been playing for 20 years. It's more than going on than a five-second discussion at the end that I had with Naomi.
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'A cold, cold handshake' - Reaction to Cirstea and Osaka's shock row
Video credit: TNT Sports
"This is my last Australian Open and so, yeah, I think the moments are bigger to me than to talk about a five-second chat I had with Naomi at the end.
"There was no drama. It was just a five-second exchange between two players that have been on a tour for a long time. It stays between us."
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Stream every match of the 2026 Australian Open live and on-demand on discovery+
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