US Open Champ, Naomi Osaka, was “a little bit sad” at the boos of the crowd but felt happy when Serena, her childhood idol, said a few words to her
Appearing a bit subdued this morning in her first ever talk-show interview, Naomi Osaka told NBC’s Today that winning the US Open still feels a bit surreal although it’s “slowly sinking in” that she bested Serena Williams, her childhood idol, whom she once wrote a paper on in third grade.
Osaka, 20, also discussed the crowd’s boos at Arthur Ashe Stadium and how it left her feeling sad.
“I felt a little bit sad because I wasn’t really sure if they were booing at me or if it was the outcome that they wanted,” Osaka said. “And then I also could sympathize because I’ve been a fan of Serena my whole life and I knew how badly the crowd wanted her to win. So… I was really emotional.”
“I just felt like everyone was sort of unhappy up there and I know the ending wasn’t how people wanted it to be,” Osaka added. “I felt very emotional and felt that I had to apologize.”
The women’s US Open was unfortunately marred in controversy between Serena and umpire Carlos Ramos. Serena was heavily penalized for arguing with Ramos over a warning that she was receiving coaching after her coach was spotted making illegal hand gestures from the sidelines. This led to several outbursts from Serena, who took offense at the umpire questioning her integrity. Yesterday, Williams was fined $17,000 for three code violations.
“I didn’t really know what was going on,” Osaka told Today about the controversy.
