Naomi Osaka has now weighed in on the plentiful controversial behaviour that has been seen at this year’s US Open.
This is an event that always commands attention, as it is inarguably the most well-marketed show in tennis.
Placed in the centre of the hustle and bustle of New York, at the back-end of a gruelling season, the conditions are almost perfect to provoke frustration, anger and controversy on and off the court.
That is just one of the reasons that Naomi Osaka thinks that we have seen an upturn in outbursts this year, as she would tell reporters.
Naomi Osaka discusses controversial behaviour at the US Open this year
Speaking at her press conference after progressing into the fourth round at the US Open, Osaka first previewed her next match against Coco Gauff, before turning her attention to the controversy of the first week of action.
After all, it has been an eventful one, with Jelena Ostapenko’s outburst at Taylor Townsend the most well-documented one.
Elsewhere, Stefanos Tsitsipas took issue with Daniel Altmaier at the net, whilst Daniil Medvedev smashed his racket after losing controversially to Benjamin Bonzi in the first round.
Referencing those last two, Osaka noted: “I don’t know what the tea is with Tsitsipas, so I’m not going to say anything, but I don’t know. I feel like, not calling everyone name out name by name, but Medvedev has had like a couple moments here that are kind of iconic.
“So, yeah, I feel like the people here might enjoy a show, but I think people everywhere enjoy a show. So, I don’t know if it’s just the part of the season where everyone’s like tired and irritated or something, I mean, for me, I think New York brings out my best behaviour. So, I don’t know what everyone else is doing!”
Jelena Ostapenko apologises to Taylor Townsend
After days of silence from Ostapenko, last night saw the Latvian finally emerge to put to bed the outstanding controversy of the US Open thus far.
She took to Instagram to finally issue an apology to Townsend, having branded her ‘uneducated’ and ‘lacking respect’ after their match earlier this week.
The story read: “Hi all – I wanted to apologise for some of the things I said during my second-round singles match.
“English is not my native language, so when I said education, I was speaking only about what I believe as tennis etiquette, but I understand how the words I used could have offended many people beyond the tennis court.
“I appreciate the support as I continue to learn and grow as a person and a tennis player. Goodbye New York and I look forward to being back next year.”
