Naomi Osaka Makes Feelings Clear on Victoria Mboko Controversy Before US Open: “Bad and Shame”

Naomi Osaka unexpectedly found herself at the center of a media storm, one she wasn’t even aware of until it broke publicly. Osaka may not have anticipated the fallout when she returned to compete at the Canadian Open earlier this summer, but it had been brewing since what she did, or let’s say didn’t do, for her 18-year-old opponent at the Canadian Open. 

In the Canadian Open final, Osaka faced off against 18-year-old Victoria Mboko, a wildcard from Canada. Fans had high hopes, seeing Osaka regain her form with strong performances leading up to the final. Unfortunately, Osaka lost the match and, in her emotional and brief on-court speech, failed to acknowledge her opponent entirely—an omission that sparked widespread reaction across tennis circles. She later explained that she was “in a daze” and deliberately kept her remarks short because she wanted to avoid repeating two previous awkward speech moments: one from Indian Wells in 2018 and another involving the “Jenny/Jennifer” confusion at the 2021 Australian Open. 

But when asked about the incident in a follow-up press conference before the US Open, she finally addressed the unintended slight. “I made sure to talk to her, ’cause I know she’s young, and I would feel really terrible if that somehow impacted her humongous success. But she said it didn’t, and she didn’t even really notice, so I was really glad about that. And I was also just really glad that she’s such a sweet girl, which also just made me feel even more terrible,” Osaka said. The conundrum left Osaka with mixed feelings about the tournament, which otherwise had quite a few positives.

When asked by a reporter if, despite the controversy at the end of the tournament, Osaka was able to look back at all the good things, the athlete replied, “Um, I would say yes and no. Yes, because obviously my biggest goal was to be seeded in a tournament, and that’s something I knew immediately. And then no, because I just felt really bad and like, shame.” When the reporter asked her to clarify if she felt shame for the Mboko incident, the 4x Grand Slam champion clarified, “Like, if I did very greatly offend Victoria. That part.”

Part of the reason why the loss stung deep and led her to miss out on important bits in her speech could be that Osaka has been looking for a comeback since her maternity leave in 2024. And that comeback, insofar, has somewhat eluded her.

Osaka made it to the final of the WTA 250 Auckland tournament in January 2025 and then won the WTA 125 event in Saint-Malo. The Canadian Open was her first summit clash since Miami 2022, and although a loss, it was still by far her best performance since her return from maternity leave.

However, ahead of the US Open, a title she won twice in 2018 and then again in 2020, Osaka remains optimistic, assuring the press that she’s doing good, and “practice has been good too.” Former US Open champion Andy Roddick also made his expectations of Osaka clear, with a prediction that she would reach Round 4.

Now, Naomi Osaka plays Greet Minnen from Germany in the first round of the US Open on the 26th of August, giving her a chance to rise in the ranks, too.