Naomi Osaka Apologizes After Disrespecting Sorana Cirstea

So what happened between the two players to cause such a dust-up? While it is difficult to know everything that transpired on the court, it was clear that Cirstea took exception to Osaka shouting "Come on" between Cirstea's first and second serves during the match.

Fans and media agree it was bad form on Osaka's part, with the television commentators even commenting on it during the broadcast. Check out the frosty handshake followed by the heated exchange in the social media video below.

When asked about the exchange during her on-court interview, Osaka said, "Apparently, a lot of 'come ons' that she was angry about, but whatever. I mean, I tried to play well, I think I hit a lot of unforced errors, but I tried my best. She's a great player, I think this was her last Australian Open, so… Okay, sorry she was mad about it."

When asked about her yelling during the match, Osaka tried to imitate what happened during the match, but stopped midway as she was clearly upset and holding back tears.

After having some time to cool off, Osaka offered an apology during her post-match press conference. "If I'm being honest, I've never been involved in something like this before. 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, but I get that emotions were very high for her, and I also want to apologize.

I think the first couple things I said on the court were disrespectful. I don't like disrespecting people. That's not what I do. If she wants to talk about it, then yeah. When I'm pumping myself up, in my head, I'm not like 'Okay, and now I'm gonna distract the other person.' It's purely for me."

Osaka confirmed that she had not seen or spoken to her opponent since the match and clarified, "I haven't seen her. I meant on my on-court interview, which I thought I could've done a lot better."

Cirstea, 35, announced last month that she would retire at the end of the 2026 season after 20 years on the WTA Tour. Osaka will face Maddison Inglis in the third round tomorrow.

The 2026 Australian Open runs through January 31 for the women and February 1 for the men.