'You can’t ignore that': Sam Querry blasts Naomi Osaka for immature behaviour after losing Canadian Open fina

Japan’s Naomi Osaka has had a mixed few weeks despite producing the goods on the court. Osaka featured in the Canadian Open, where she had a great run and cemented her spot in the final after beating Denmark’s Clara Tauson in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 7-6 in Montreal.

It was her first final in a WTA 1000 event in three years, but that particular match did not go as planned as she suffered a rather shocking defeat to young Canadian sensation Victoria Mboko, who came out on top with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. Osaka looked shocked at the outcome of the match, and her speech made things even worse for her.

The former world number one said very few words in the post-match presentation, but importantly, she did not congratulate Mboko for winning the biggest title of her young career. “I don’t really want to take up too much time,” said Osaka. “I’ll just say thank you to everyone. Thank you to my team, the ball kids, organisers, & volunteers. I hope you guys had a good night.”

On the other hand, Mboko was graceful even after winning the title and congratulated Osaka, who was her idol as well. “I also want to thank Naomi for an incredible match,” said Mboko. “I have always looked up to her when I was really little. Its always great to play with such an amazing player like you. Lastly, I want to thank everyone who came to support me today. My siblings, my family. I would not have been here if it wasn’t for them. I want to thank every single one of you. You guys were incredible. I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Effort to control damage

After the match, Osaka tried to clarify her comments while talking to the press. Osaka admitted that she forgot to congratulate Mboko after being overwhelmed with emotions following the defeat. She stated that she had no idea why her emotions ‘flipped’ after the outcome. “Yeah, I mean, definitely. I think it's kind of funny,” said Osaka. “This morning I was very grateful. I don't know why my emotions flipped so quickly, but I'm really happy to have played the final. I think Victoria played really well. I completely forgot to congratulate her on the court. Yeah, I mean, she did really amazing.”

Despite the clarification, Osaka was criticised by fans on social media who called her a ‘sore loser’ for reacting the way she did after losing in the final of a WTA 1000 event, despite winning multiple Grand Slams and remaining world number one in the past. That forced Osaka to further explain the reasons behind those comments after losing the final in a post on her Threads account.

"Thanks Montreal it's been a really great run,” she wrote. “I also want to say sorry and congratulations to Victoria. You played a great match and have an amazing career ahead! I realize I didn't congratulate you on the court. Honestly I was in a daze and I was so focused on not having the same speech as IW 2018 finals or the Jenny/Jennifer situation that I tried to make my speech as short as possible. Thanks everyone for the week, see you in NY."

Former American player Sam Querry has now weighed in on a debate surrounding Osaka's attitude. In the recent episode of the Nothing Majors Podcast, Querry lambasted Osaka and stated that seeing that speech from a former world number one after losing a final drove him ‘crazy’. "Can Osaka act like an adult for five minutes?,” asked Querry. “Give a nice speech, pretend for a minute, and then head to the locker room. It drives me crazy. [...] She’s also going to make a lot of money — you can’t ignore that. Give a decent speech and congratulate your opponent.”