Naomi Osaka’s reputation regarding her behavior as an opponent is a bit complex. On one side, she’s known for moments of grace and humility, particularly towards her younger opponents. On the flip side, she has also faced criticism for perceived poor sportsmanship, especially after losses. Some view her as humble and self-deprecating, while others see her as lacking grace in defeat. Recently, the 27-year-old tennis star reached her first WTA 1000 final since the 2022 Miami Open, but sadly for Osaka, she was deprived of a title triumph by the 18-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko. But more than her three-set defeat, it was Osaka’s post-match reaction that came under scrutiny.

The final in Montreal started pretty well for Naomi Osaka as she took the first set by 6-2, but Mboko came back strong in the next two sets to seal the match by 2-6,6-4,6-1. But after the match, surprisingly, Osaka didn’t acknowledge the teenager’s incredible effort in her runners-up speech, where it’s expected that players congratulate each other and their teams before thanking the event staff and organizers. “

I don’t really want to take up too much time, so I will just say thank you to everyone.” Seeing this from a four-time Grand Slam champion, Coco Gauff’s ex-coach, Brad Gilbert, tweeted, “i know Double Osaka struggles with social anxiety

but gosh congratulate your opponent especially one

that looked upped to you, not mention you just let the last few games going a final”

Even Rennae Stubbs shared a tweet later on saying, “the way Naomi handled it in the end, was a little 😳.” According to Stubbs, it was a bit “sad” to see Naomi Osaka not congratulate someone who had looked up to her while growing up. On 11 August, during her podcast, Rennae Stubbs yet again brought this topic to the discussion table, explaining how Osaka had to be fetched by the WTA supervisors after the final. “I don’t like to rip on players. I was a terrible loser myself. I’ll be quite honest. The one thing you always do, I mean, unless you absolutely, and even when I absolutely hated the person I lost to, you begrudgingly, the words still have to come out of your mouth. Congratulations to X. Well done,” she said.

Embracing defeats is also an art. Accepting loss gracefully and learning from it can be a valuable skill and a positive attribute, and according to Stubbs, Naomi Osaka’s post-match gesture wasn’t positive at all. Commenting further on the player who has played almost 341 matches on the Tour, Stubbs added, “But to forget, quote unquote, is what she said. I’m like, honey, you didn’t forget. You just want to get off the stage. You hated every second of it. The WTA supervisor had to go and find her because she left the court and was not coming back to the trophy ceremony. It took them 12 minutes.”

Here, Rennae Stubbs was referring to the explanation that Osaka came up with in a WTA transcript later (she skipped her press conference as well). “I think Victoria played really well,” she said. “I completely forgot to congratulate her on court. Yeah, I mean, she did really amazing.” But hey, what did the youngster say about Osaka after the match, though?

Victoria Mboko shares her thoughts on Naomi Osaka not attending the post-match press conference

Naomi Osaka’s on-court interview drew its fair share of critics, but Andy Roddick was not one of them. While he acknowledged that athletes (winners and losers) across sports have to face post-game press conferences, hardly any sport has a turnaround period that is as short as tennis.

“I’m pretty sure Patrick Mahomes didn’t have to stand on the Super Bowl stage and say something nice about his opponent in the immediate aftermath of the game and during their ceremony,” argued Roddick in a recent episode of his Served podcast. “It’s like I don’t know, like someone’s worst day at work ever, if you put a microphone in front of them, they would say some regrettable [ __ ] or not say or not say enough good stuff like that happens, and apparently people you know are perfect in their worst moments and disagree.”

Coming to her opponent’s post-match reaction, well, during her runners-up speech, Victoria Mboko thanked Naomi Osaka for the incredible match and also revealed that she has looked up to her while growing up. So, playing against her in a final was a memorable moment for her. Later on, during the press conference, when she was asked to share her thoughts on Osaka snubbing the post-match press conference, she added, “If that was her wish, then I respect it as well. I mean, I still think Naomi is an incredible player, and it doesn’t ever change what I think of her. I think she’s still a really nice girl. I still look up to her.” What are your thoughts on this controversial incident, though?