Naomi Osaka claims she forgot to congratulate Victoria Mboko during her blunt loser’s speech at the Canadian Open. The Japanese star spoke for a mere 18 seconds after she suffered a disappointing defeat to the 18-year-old in the final.
Canadian Mboko came from behind to win 2-6 6-4 6-1 in Montreal, sparking wild scenes that also interrupted the men’s final in Toronto. But Osaka was not feeling the party atmosphere and gave a very short speech to the crowd on court. The 27-year-old failed to mention Mboko, who has previously claimed that her opponent was her idol when she was growing up.
Osaka said in her speech: “I don’t really wanna take up too much time. I’ll just say thank you to everyone. Thank you to my team, thank you to the ball kids, to the organisers, and to the volunteers. I hope you guys had a good night.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion then refused to attend a press conference after the match. However, once she was in a better mood, Osaka spoke to journalists in the mixed zone and admitted that she had forgotten to mention Mboko.
“Yeah, I mean, definitely. I think it’s kind of funny. 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,” Osaka said. “I think Victoria played really well. I completely forgot to congratulate her on the court. Yeah, I mean, she did really amazing.”
Mboko, who has previously discussed looking up to Osaka, insists her opinion of her opponent is unchanged. She said: “I didn’t really get a chance to speak with her after the game. I was kind of really caught up in everything that was happening after the match. If that (skipping her press conference) was her wishes, then I respect it as well.
“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. Nothing really changes after the match. I’m really happy that I was able to win today, but to play against her was also a really special moment for me.”
Mboko is set to jump to No. 24 in the world rankings, almost certainly securing her a seeded spot for the US Open later this month.